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Did you know that more than half of those who misused prescription opioids in the past year obtained them from a friend or relative? Prescription opioid misuse and abuse can start in the home, so practicing safe storage and disposal is key to ensuring that these medicines do not end up in the wrong hands.
Allied Against Opioid Abuse (AAOA) is a national education and awareness initiative helping to prevent the abuse and misuse of prescription opioids. Founded by stakeholders across the healthcare and public health communities, AAOA aims to fill in the education gap and raise awareness of the rights, risks and responsibilities associated with prescription opioids, including ways to safely store and dispose of these medicines.
Safe Storage
Pain is a common medical issue. If you and your healthcare provider agree on a treatment plan that includes prescription opioids, take the following steps to safely store these medications:
Unused medicines are a main source for misuse and abuse, so it is critical to safely dispose of any leftover pills when there is no longer a medical need for them. Here are five things you need to know about safe disposal:
AAOA and its partners have created a full suite of resources with reminders and tips to help underscore the importance of prescription opioid safety among patients, caregivers and the medical community.
To learn more and access AAOA’s growing library of fact sheets, videos and toolkits, visit AgainstOpioidAbuse.com.
This article originally appeared in a special pain management supplement for the March 17 edition of USA Today. The supplement, developed by Mediaplant, was also published online.