Prescription Drug Abuse Crisis Focus of Drug Summit
KANSAS CITY, KAN. – An explosion in prescription drug abuse will be the focus as health care providers and law enforcement officers meet this week to look for solutions, U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said today.
The Rx Drug Summit: Emerging Trends in Illicit Use of Drugs is set for Thursday at the KU Medical Center in Kansas City, Kan. The day-long event will put physicians, nurses and pharmacists in touch with federal, state and local investigators.
“Prescription drugs are being misused and abused at an alarming rate,” Grissom said. “We are seeing more cases of accidental poisoning, addiction and overdose deaths. It is not an overstatement to call this an epidemic. It is a major threat to public health and safety.”
During the summit, Assistant U.S. Attorney Tanya Treadway will talk about the prosecution of Haysville, Kan., physician Stephen Schneider and his wife, Linda, who were sentenced to federal prison in 2010 after they were convicted of illegally dispensing painkillers that caused patient overdose deaths.
“The Healthcare Community’s Perspective On Pain Management” is the title of a presentation by Dr. Theodore V. Parran, Jr., medical director of continuing medical education at Case Western University in Cleveland.
In a presentation called, “Pharmaceutical Drug Abuse,” Scott Collier of the Drug Enforcement Administration, will look at data indicating a nationwide increase in overdose deaths.
Christina Morris of the Kansas Board of Pharmacy will do a presentation on K-TRACS, the state of Kansas’ new prescription drug monitoring program.
Dr. Terrill Hulson, a family medicine specialist from Oklahoma, will do a presentation for physicians called “Protecting Your Patients and Your Practice.”
The conference is limited to registered participants. Some sessions may be open to reporters by special arrangement. For more information, contact Jim Cross, public information officer, at 316-269-6552 or james.cross2@usdoj.gov .
