Be Medicinewise
Medicine misuse can happen to anyone and it’s all about following the right advice – this is the key theme of this year’s Be Medicinewise week 21-27 August.
High on the agenda for the public education campaign is prescription painkillers, which can be addictive or deadly if used incorrectly, taken at the wrong dosages or in conjunction with other medicines or substances.
According to NPW Medicinewise, one in 10 Australians aged over 14 has misused prescription painkillers or opioid medication.
Dr Alex Wodak, President of the Australian Drug Law Reform Foundation, says Australia’s opioid problem has a lot to do with overprescribing.
Quoted recently in The Sydney Morning Herald, Dr Wodak said, “We doctors and pain specialists made a terrible error in the 70s, 80s and 90s. We prescribed opiates too readily and at too high a dose to too many people.”
The Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme reported in 2014 that around 3 million people had been prescribed at least one opioid analgesic in the previous 12 months, and warned of increasing rates of oxycodone usage.
The discussion about safe use of opioids presents another opportunity to educate the community about best practice pain management.
“It is time for more public education and conversation about the best ways of managing chronic pain,” says Painaustralia CEO Carol Bennett.
“Reducing harms from opioids will require a whole-of-community effort.”
To find out more about Be Medicinewise week and to download related resources, click here.