CAPITO PRESSES FDA, GOVERNORS, MEDICAL ORGANIZATIONS TO IMPLEMENT NEW PARTIAL FILL LAW IN BATTLE AGAINST NATIONAL OPIOID CRISIS

Source: Shelley Moore Capito - (R-WV)

Washington, D.C. - September 8, 2017 (The Ponder News) -- U.S. Senators Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) wrote to Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, governors across the country and 11 national medical member organizations, urging them to utilize provisions of the Reducing Unused Medications Act in their efforts to combat the opioid epidemic. Introduced by Senators Capito and Warren, the bipartisan bill passed in 2016 as part of the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act. As a result of the senators’ work, federal law now allows prescriptions for Schedule II opioid medications, such as OxyContin and Vicodin, to be partially filled by pharmacists at the request of patients or doctors, reducing the number of unused painkillers in circulation.

Senator Capito also sent a separate letter to West Virginia Governor Jim Justice. In the letter, she asked Governor Justice to describe the status of partial fill implementation in the state, strategies for increasing awareness of the new policies among the general public and health care professionals and additional federal efforts that would help in limiting the amount of unused medications in homes.

“Encouraging prescribers to embrace the partial fill option for their patients can help to reduce the number of opioids left over in homes across the country,” the senators wrote to Commissioner Gottlieb. They requested that the FDA’s Opioid Policy Steering Committee “consider how the new partial fill law may help advance the FDA’s goals of better managing the risk of opioids and requiring greater prescriber education.”

In their letter to governors, the senators wrote, “As public officials work together to address the opioid epidemic, we must continue to build partnerships, take creative approaches, and look for every opportunity – big or small – to implement policies that prevent addiction and save lives.”

Additional letters were sent to the leaders of 11 national medical member organizations that play a critical role in reducing the number of unused medications that wind up in bathroom cabinets across the country. “We hope that you encourage your members to embrace partial filling options, which encourages honest conversations between patients and their doctors about their pain, as well as how much medication they feel comfortable having in the home,” the senators wrote.

The organizations included the National Community Pharmacists Association, the American Association Medical Colleges (AAMC), the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy, the American Academy of Pain Medicine, the American Dental Education Association, the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy, the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Family Physicians, the National Association of Chain Drug Stores, the American Pharmacists Association and the American Dental Association.

To read the letter to Governor Justice, click here.

To read the letter to Commissioner Gottlieb, click here.

To read the letters to governors, click here.

To read the letters to medical member organizations, click here.