Monitoring program fails to slow opioid epidemic in West Virginia
Despite a policy that led to a decrease in the amount of prescription opioids dispensed in West Virginia, hospitalizations related to opioids have not significantly declined, according to researchers from West Virginia University. More alarming: the data shows that there was more than a 200 percent increase in heroin poisonings following the policy’s implementation.
The study found that overall opioid poisonings rates increased significantly from 2008 to 2015 among all age groups. Individuals ranging between 18 and 34 years had the highest increase in poisonings, attributed to both heroin and prescription opioids. According to data available from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, after the prescription drug monitoring program was mandated for the state of West Virginia in 2012 there was a notable decrease in the amount of prescription opioids dispensed – yet hospitalizations for opioid overdoses did not decrease.