Introduction Community health clinics (CHCs) are an opportune setting to identify and treat substance misuse. This study assessed the characteristics of patients who presented to a CHC with substance misuse. Methods Personnel at a large CHC administered a 5-question screener to patients between June 3, 2014, and January 15, 2016, to assess past 3-month alcohol use, prescription opioid misuse,...

doi: 10.5694/mja14.01587 Medicines and Poisons are strictly regulated because of the high risk of misuse and/or physical and psychological dependence associated with them. They have to be prescribed, dispensed, documented and destroyed in specific ways that are in compliance with each state and territory’s different drug regulations. S8 medicines are under stricter control than Schedule 4 (S4) ...

Sedatives are widely prescribed for anxiety or insomnia and include benzodiazepines, selective benzodiazepine receptor subtype agonists (z-drugs), and barbiturates. These sedatives are controlled substances due to their potential for misuse and abuse. Misuse is often self-medication (chemical coping) of psychological symptoms in ways unauthorized by the prescriber, usually as dose escalation le...

Prescription drug abuse, misuse and unintentional overdose deaths are major public health concerns and have captured the attention of regulators at every level. There is no shortage of guidelines, laws, rules, regulations, and policies regarding opioid prescribing. Physicians struggle with their duty to treat pain, and yet balance this against the risk to patients as well as the potential for d...

We study the effects of prescription drug monitoring programs (PDMPs) on crime, and inform how policies that restrict access to Rx opioids per se within healthcare system would impact broader non-health domains. In response substantial increase in opioid use misuse United States, PDMPs have been implemented virtually all states collect, monitor, analyze data with goal preventing its diversion. ...

PROBLEM/CONDITION Drug overdose is the leading cause of injury death in the United States. The death rate from drug overdose in the United States more than doubled during 1999-2013, from 6.0 per 100,000 population in 1999 to 13.8 in 2013. The increase in drug overdoses is attributable primarily to the misuse and abuse of prescription drugs, especially opioid analgesics, sedatives/tranquilizers,...

The purpose of this study was to examine the prevalence of prescription medication misuse among adolescents with severe mental health problems in Ontario, Canada, and to explore some of the factors that influence the misuse of prescription medication. Data were obtained from the Resident Assessment Instrument for Mental Health. A total of 2,677 adolescents between the ages of 12 and 18 years wh...

rational prescribing increases the quality of health care and patient outcomes. in this study, the quality of drug prescription in specialist physicians in isfahan province of iran was assessed for evaluating the rational use of drugs and improving the therapeutic outcomes.this retrospective survey was conducted on a total of 7999530 prescriptions from all general and specialist physicians. the...

background: restless and violent behaviors are common in emergency departments (eds), which need therapeutic interventions in most of the times. the first-generation anti-psychotic drugs are one of the most applicable therapeutic agents in the management of such patients, but their use has some limitations. some studies suggest midazolam as an alternative medicine. therefore, this study was per...