Mountain Pacific Blog

Mountain-Pacific Quality Health encourages everyone to take action to reduce prescription opioid abuse by properly disposing of prescription drugs and securing your medicine cabinet.

There are currently so many prescription opioids in the hands of U.S. consumers that nearly every adult in America could have their own bottle of pills. Most Americans misusing opioids obtain them from family and friends.

You can help reduce the abuse of opioids by locking your pharmaceuticals in a medicine cabinet and by properly disposing unwanted pills. There are prescription disposal locations throughout the country; the sites are free and anonymous – no questions asked. Please see the links below to find a disposal location near you.

For health care professionals who prescribe opioids, you have the power to help end this crisis. Commit to the Surgeon General’s pledge to carry out three critical actions:

• educate yourself to treat pain safely and effectively;
• screen your patients for opioid use disorder and provide/connect them with evidence-based treatment;
• talk about and treat addiction as a chronic illness, not a moral failing.

For provider tools and guidelines go to:

http://www.mpqhf.org/QIO/quality-improvement-tools-resources/medication-safety-ade-tools-resources/

Mountain-Pacific is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation and holds federal and state contracts that allow us to oversee the quality of care for Medicare and Medicaid members. Mountain-Pacific works within its region (Montana, Wyoming, Alaska, Hawaii and the U.S. Pacific Territories of Guam and American Samoa and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands) to help improve the delivery of health care and the systems that provide it. Mountain-Pacific’s goal is to increase access to high-quality health care that is affordable, safe and of value to the patients they serve.