Kaine prescribes antidote to drug deaths
Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) on Thursday prescribed an antidote to the increasing number of opioid overdoses and deaths — widespread dispensing of naloxone.
Naloxone works nearly instantly to block the opioid receptors in the brain and counter the effects of heroin, fentanyl and narcotic painkillers. But it must be administered quickly. Kaine’s bill seeks to make it more available in homes and health settings.
Kaine was among the first group of Virginians to be trained in August 2014 in how to administer the drug under the state’s Revive program.
He’s been searching for solutions that would help combat the rise in opiate overdoses and deaths in Virginia and nationwide.
In 2013, for the second time this decade, more deaths in Virginia were attributed to drugs than motor vehicle crashes. Heroin deaths rose rapidly from 49 in 2010 to 213 in 2013.
“In every corner of Virginia, the drug abuse epidemic is hurting families, challenging local law enforcement and leaving businesses without a capable workforce,” Kaine said in a news release.
“A particularly heartbreaking aspect of this crisis is that many of the deaths from opioid and heroin overdoses could have been prevented. My bill would increase access to medication that can save someone’s life during an overdose and establish clear prescribing guidelines that will help get vital information about opioids to doctors and patients.”
The bill, called the Co-prescribing Saves Lives Act, would require Health and Human Services, the Defense Department and Veterans Affairs to educate physicians on co-prescribing naloxone with opioids at VA hospitals, Native American health service facilities and federally qualified health centers.
It would also provide funding to state health departments to establish co-prescribing guidelines, purchase naloxone and train health professionals and patients.
Federal hospitals and clinics would be required to co-prescribe naloxone for patients receiving chronic opioid therapy and those being treated for opioid use disorders.
Nancy Hans, executive director of the Prevention Council of Roanoke County and chairwoman of the Community Coalitions of Virginia, said this could help save high-risk people who are abusing opioids.
“Families know when somebody is taking a lot of medication in a way that they shouldn’t,” she said.
Though privacy laws prevent doctors from relaying information to family member without patients’ permission, Hans said, families can convey information to physicians that would prompt a naloxone prescription.
The state Department of Behavioral Health’s Revive program to train first responders in the use of naloxone has been successful, she said. Revive is now starting to train nonemergency workers.
