News You Can Use: Health & Drug Safety Updates

2020

One in five older adults said that they’ve taken leftover antibiotics without checking with a doctor first, a new poll shows.

Despite these practices and expectations, 89% of adults aged 50 to 80 who responded to the National Poll on Healthy Aging said they understand that overuse of antibiotics could mean the drugs won’t work against infections in the future. The poll results suggest that millions of doses of antibiotics are currently sitting in the backs of medicine cabinets across ...

DEA and partners collect thousands of pounds of unwanted medications and vaping products during the 18th National Prescription Drug Take Back Day

Americans nationwide have once again shown their strong support for DEA’s National Prescription Drug Take Back Day by dropping off nearly 883,000 pounds of medications during the October 2019 Take Back event ...

One in five older adults said that they’ve taken leftover antibiotics without checking with a doctor first, a new poll shows

Despite these practices and expectations, 89% of adults aged 50 to 80 who responded to the National Poll on Healthy Aging said they understand that overuse of antibiotics could mean the drugs won’t work against infections in the future. The poll results suggest that millions of doses of antibiotics are currently sitting in the backs of medicine cabinets across ...

DEA and partners collect thousands of pounds of unwanted medications and vaping products during the 18th National Prescription Drug Take Back Day

Americans nationwide have once again shown their strong support for DEA’s National Prescription Drug Take Back Day by dropping off nearly 883,000 pounds of medications during the October 2019 Take Back event.  ...

November is National Family Caregivers Month

November is National Family Caregivers Month - A time to recognize and honor family caregivers across the country by raising awareness of family caregiver issues.  The National Caregivers Action Network provides education tools to support to caregivers as they care for their loved ones. 
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November is National Family Caregivers Month

November is National Family Caregivers Month - A time to recognize and honor family caregivers across the country by raising awareness of family caregiver issues.  The National Caregivers Action Network provides education tools to support to caregivers as they care for their loved ones ...

Allied Against Opioid Abuse launched the AAOA-NCL Toolkit

Allied Against Opioid Abuse launched the AAOA-NCL Toolkit in collaboration with the National Consumers League (NCL), to help educate consumers around prescription opioid safety. The AAOA-NCL Consumer Toolkit addresses common questions that patients may have about their rights, risks and responsibilities associated with prescription opioids, and highlights facts about opioid medications to raise awareness about misinformation and prevent ...

AAOA-NCL Consumer Toolkit

Allied Against Opioid Abuse launched the AAOA-NCL Toolkit in collaboration with the National Consumers League (NCL), to help educate consumers around prescription opioid safety. The AAOA-NCL Consumer Toolkit addresses common questions that patients may have about their rights, risks and responsibilities associated with prescription opioids, and highlights facts about opioid medications to raise awareness about ...

With a new guide to tapering opioids, federal health officials seek a balanced approach to prescribing

The Health and Human Services Department published new guidance for physicians treating patients that have prescriptions for opioids, recommending that they do not abruptly reduce dosages for people dependent on the drugs to manage chronic pain. Health officials released the guidelines in an attempt to help curb opioid prescriptions overall without harming patients that are ...

With a new guide to tapering opioids, federal health officials seeks a balanced approach to prescribing

The Health and Human Services Department published new guidance for physicians treating patients that have prescriptions for opioids, recommending that they do not abruptly reduce dosages for people dependent on the drugs to manage chronic pain. Health officials released the guidelines in an attempt to help curb opioid prescriptions overall without harming patients that are ...

New Source of Information on Preventing Opioid Misuse and Abuse – 34th Talk About Your Medicines Month Addresses Preventing Opioid Misuse and Abuse Across the Ages

Gloucester, MA – The opioid epidemic is a public health emergency. On average, 130 Americans die every day from opioid misuse according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). All Americans are affected by this problem. It may be the death of a family member from an overdose, the legal problems, or the ...

Off-label medication orders on the rise for children

Rutgers Today - U.S. physicians are increasingly ordering medications for children for conditions that are not approved by the Food and Drug Administration, according to a Rutgers study.  The findings highlight the need for more education, research and policies addressing effective, safe pediatric drug prescribing. The study, published in the journal Pediatrics, analyzed data collected from 2006 to ...

Drug dealers are peddling steroids on Facebook and YouTube

Wash. Post - Drug dealers are turning to Facebook and other popular social media sites to peddle steroids, which are illegal without a prescription, raising more questions about whether the companies are properly policing their platforms.  Those substances are being aggressively sold or marketed through posts and videos on sites including Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and ...

Consumer Reports is reminding people that using antibiotics improperly, can pose risks

Wash. Post - If you’ve ever had a cold that keeps you up at night coughing or painful urinary tract infections that recur regularly, you may have been tempted to simply help yourself to the antibiotics you’ve been storing since last year in your medicine cabinet. Or you might ask a friend or family member ...

FDA warns of NDMA found in samples of ranitidine

FDA has learned that some ranitidine medicines, including some products commonly known as the brand-name Zantac, contain a nitrosamine impurity called N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) at low levels. NDMA—a known environmental contaminant and found in water and foods—is considered a probable human carcinogen. FDA has been investigating NDMA and other nitrosamine impurities in angiotensin II receptor blockers ...

NABP Launches New Consumer Website

The National Association of Boards of Pharmacy® (NABP®) announces the launch of www.safe.pharmacy as an NABP-branded site featuring consumer-oriented information . Consumers will find information on preventing prescription drug abuse, how to safely use medication, how boards of pharmacy and pharmacists can serve as resources, and where to find permanent drug disposal locations.
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New Survey Finds Vaccine Discussions Are a Low Priority at the Medicare Annual Wellness Visit: Experts Discuss Implications

The Alliance for Aging Research is hosting a webinar to discuss a recent survey distributed to primary care physicians and nurse practitioners that found that vaccine discussions as part of prevention planning are a low priority at the Medicare Annual Wellness Visit; and, that more education is needed to overcome patient awareness barriers. Read more... ...

SAMHSA’s 2008 National Survey on Drug Use and Health

SAMHSA has released the latest data findings from the 2018 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH). NSDUH provides estimates of the use of illegal substances, prescription drugs, alcohol, and tobacco, as well as mental disorders, treatment, and co-occurring substance use and mental disorders in the United States. Read more... ...

AAOA has partnered with HealthyWomen and launched the AAOA-HealthyWomen Toolkit

AAOA has partnered with HealthyWomen and launched the AAOA-HealthyWomen Toolkit to underscore the seriousness of the country’s prescription opioid abuse epidemic on families across the country and offers actionable steps for women — who make the majority of the healthcare decisions in the home — to take to ensure opioid medications are secured and out of reach ...

More parents give dietary supplements to kids. But experts warn about their potential danger.

About a third of children in the United States use dietary supplements, according to a nationally representative survey of American children and adolescents. Between 2004 and 2014, participants' use of herbal and nonvitamin supplements nearly doubled, from 3.7 percent to 6.7 percent in 2013-2014. Read more... ...