Gov.’s task force releases guidelines aimed at combating prescription drug abuse

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Governor Mike Pence’s Task Force on Drug Enforcement, Treatment, and Prevention is endorsing a new set of opioid and controlled substance prescribing guidelines for emergency departments.

Gov. Mike Pence’s office announced the new guidelines Tuesday, which were developed by the Indiana Hospital Association, the Indiana State Medical Association.

“Our Task Force on Drug Enforcement, Treatment, and Prevention today takes yet another meaningful stride forward in Indiana’s fight against prescription drug abuse as we roll out new guidelines aimed at curbing overprescribed addictive opioids,” Gov. Pence said in a press release.

“While communities across the Hoosier state and the nation work to address a prescription opioid and heroin epidemic, my administration remains vigilant in addressing the scourge of drug abuse that has brought heartbreak for far too many Hoosier families.”

The Indiana Hospital Association and the Indiana State medical Association urge emergency room doctors to limit prescriptions to five day supplies and discourage prescribing the drugs to people with known addiction or abuse issues. One of the guidelines says doctors should not provide replacements for drugs that were lost, destroyed or stolen.

They also give emergency room doctors the right to drug test patients.

To see the entire list of recommendations, click here.