West Virginia Hospital Association Releases Guidelines to Reduce Opioid Drug Abuse

The West Virginia Hospital Association Board of Trustees has endorsed a set of guidelines to help West Virginia’s hospitals reduce the misuse of opioid prescription drugs.

Director of Communications Tina Rymer said in a news release Dec. 14 the guidelines consist of 10 principles establishing recommendations for opioid screening, prescribing practices and appropriate use of resources to work with patients prior to prescribing an opioid pain medication.

Rymer says the overall goal is to ensure that health care providers in the state have standardized resources and to educate patients on the risks of taking opioid medications.

Some of the guidelines state that a prescription should not be given to a patient without a government-issued ID and that one medical provider should provide all opioids to treat a patient’s chronic pain.

Related:

• West Virginia Official Says Miner Drug Abuse Rising
• Report: West Virginia Leads U.S. in Prescription Drug Overdoses
• West Virginia Looks to Tackle Highest Drug Overdose Rate in Nation