|
|
|||||
|
RADARS System Hosts Second Annual Scientific Meeting: From Signals to Interventions The Second Annual RADARS System Scientific Meeting: From Signals to Interventions took
place on May 1, 2008, in Bethesda, Md., marking the sixth anniversary of the
RADARS System. Eighty attendees, including researchers and representatives
from the pharmaceutical industry and regulatory agencies, participated in the
meeting. “This meeting was an opportunity to stimulate discussions
on what an intervention entails and what are realistic expectations for
prescription drug abuse interventions,” said Richard C. Dart M.D., Ph.D.,
executive director of the RADARS System. “Guest speakers presented various
interventions and associated outcomes documenting their successes and
challenges. The interventions presented could serve as examples of how
pharmaceutical companies can develop risk management plans to curb
prescription drug abuse in the nation.” Dr. Dart provided an overview of 2007 RADARS System data
and provided an introduction into key elements of risk management plans and
how interventions play a key role in those plans. Dr. Dart also provided an
overview of how the RADARS System captures prescription drug abuse, misuse
and diversion data at various stages of dependence (opportunity, use, abuse,
dependence) demonstrating that RADARS System data can identify abuse, misuse
and diversion trends in populations within each of these different stages. According to 2007 RADARS System data, 94 percent of
three-digit ZIP codes in the US reported into the RADARS System,
and of these, 97 percent reported at least one case of prescription abuse,
misuse or diversion. These results remain consistent with findings from
previous years by demonstrating that prescription drug abuse continues to
affect nearly all areas of the nation. Experts in public
health interventions and in prescription drug abuse and diversion served as
speakers at the meeting. The following describes the guest speakers and their
presentation topics. §
Dr. Jennifer Sabel from the Washington State Department
of Health presented Prescription Opiate
Deaths in Washington State and Potential Solutions §
Patrizia Carrieri from the French National Institute from
Health and Medical Research presented The
Importance of Measuring Drug Related Harms and Benefits of Treatment in Post-Marketing
Surveillance: Lessons from Buprenorphine §
Commander John Burke from the National Association of
Drug Diversion Investigators presented Law
Enforcement and the Pharmaceutical Industry-Collaboration for Success §
Dr. Michael Arthur of the University
of Washington presented Using Community
Monitoring to Promote Healthy Development: The Communities that Care
Prevention System §
Dr. Curtis Wright of Star
Pharmaceuticals presented Getting to
Intervention: Lessons Learned from Abusable Drugs for Pharmaceutical Risk
Assessment, Management and Intervention View
the 2008 Annual Scientific Meeting Summary. |
||||
|
Spotlight:
National Association of Drug Diversion Investigators (NADDI) The
National Association of Drug Diversion Investigators, Inc. (NADDI) was
established in 1989 to improve the ability of its members to investigate and
prosecute pharmaceutical drug diversion. NADDI members include professionals
in the law enforcement, government and pharmaceutical arenas. NADDI
provides education and training sessions on drug diversion, investigation,
prosecution and prevention and shares information with a wide variety of
organizations interested in current trends of pharmaceutical drug diversion.
NADDI also organizes an annual meeting where participants are encouraged to
review current trends and work to develop measures to combat prescription
drug abuse in the United States. NADDI
provides grant funding for law enforcement agencies in the nation who wish to
add one full-time officer devoted to issues involving prescription drug abuse
to their force. For more information on this grant opportunity and for more
information on NADDI, please visit www.naddi.org. |
|||||
|
Interview
with RADARS System Scientific Advisory Board Member, Commander John Burke Commander John Burke is president of the National
Association of Drug Diversion Investigators and is owner and president of
Pharmaceutical Diversion Education Inc., a company which provides education
and consultations on a wide variety of prescription drug abuse issues. Burke
has been a law enforcement officer for more than 40 years and has provided
educational sessions and lectures across the United States to law enforcement
and health professionals on the topic of prescription drug abuse. He has
published numerous articles on the topic, and has written a monthly column
for the past five years in Pharmacy
Times magazine on pharmaceutical diversion. In addition to the activities listed above, Burke also commands
the Greater Warren County Drug Task Force and Southwest Ohio High Intensity
Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Initiative in Lebanon, Ohio. In May, his drug
task force teamed up with Purdue Pharma and completed the largest undercover purchase
of OxyContin® ever in the United States, while effectively dismantling a
multi-state pharmaceutical diversion criminal enterprise. Q. Please tell us about your current
work. I currently command a large drug task force (15 members)
in southwest Ohio that targets mid to upper level drug traffickers of both
licit and illicit drugs. In addition, the task force is designated a High
Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) which allows local, state, and
federal law enforcement to work together in one task force and jointly pursue
high-level offenders. Q.
At the RADARS System Annual Scientific Meeting, you presented Law
Enforcement and the Pharmaceutical Industry-Collaboration for Success, a presentation on how pharmaceutical companies can
collaborate with law enforcement agencies to curb prescription drug
diversion. Can you describe the importance of these collaborations? I learned a long time ago that
in order to do the best job possible in law enforcement, it is essential that
you utilize all of your available resources. Historically in law enforcement
this has meant reaching out to other criminal and regulatory enforcement
agencies and the general public, in order to do the best job possible. However, what has been
overlooked is our great opportunity to collaborate with industry, and
specifically in my job, with the pharmaceutical industry. Although some of
the collaborative investigative techniques cannot be discussed publicly, the
pharmaceutical industry provides assistance in identifying counterfeit
medications, funding of specific investigations, grant opportunities through
the National Association of Drug Diversion Investigators (NADDI), and sponsorship
of valuable training opportunities that include conferences and printed
materials to assist uniform officers and detectives in the field. We have only touched the
surface on what can be done with the collaboration between law enforcement
and the pharmaceutical industry. NADDI will soon be reaching out to the
industry in hopes of an initial formal meeting where both entities can
showcase their resources and articulate their goals in hopes of achieving the
ultimate goal- reducing pharmaceutical diversion. Q.
Recently, your task force completed a major undercover investigation which
involved the support of the pharmaceutical company. Can you comment on this
success and how this collaboration worked? Yes, we accomplished the
largest undercover purchase of OxyContin ever in the United States. We were
able to ultimately purchase 3,000 tablets (80mg) for $105,000, before
arresting the suspects in Dearborn, Michigan. This operation had been
providing thousands of OxyContin tablets to addicts and abusers in southwest
Ohio and beyond. Purdue Pharma L.P., in addition
to identifying pills in a previous undercover purchase, provided us with
funding to purchase 600 tablets of their drug and allowed the money to leave
with the suspects without them being arrested. This opened the door for the
much larger 3,000 pill deal that assisted us in obtaining subsequent search
warrants and providing a potentially much more significant sentence for the
violators. The level of success attained in this investigation could not have
happened without Purdue Pharma’s exceptional assistance. Q.
In your opinion, why is it important to monitor and understand prescription
drug diversion trends? Monitoring drug diversion
trends is essential to do the best possible job of identifying the most
popular drugs of abuse, and where these “hot spots” exist in the United
States. Knowing what drug/s are involved in the diversion problem, and where
that problem exists, allows all of us to plot the best possible solution to
the problem, which will not necessarily be the same with each drug and
location. My association with the RADARS
System has been an invaluable learning tool for me in law enforcement. I have
found it fascinating as to how quickly the RADARS System is able to detect
the diversion of particular drugs. I think credit is due to the multiple
signal detection systems engrained in the RADARS System and their diversity
that gives us this rapid and accurate account of prescription drug abuse. |
|||||
|
RADARS System
Launches its Sixth Signal Detection System: Survey of Key Informants’
Patients The RADARS System has successfully launched the Survey of Key
Informants’ Patients Signal Detection System. The sixth RADARS System signal
detection system surveys patients recruited by key informants and asks
patients to complete an anonymous questionnaire which inquires about the
patient’s drug use in the past month, lifetime drug abuse, the age when drug
use first occurred, and the primary source of the abused drug(s). “This is an exciting new
development. This new signal detection system enables the RADARS System to
capture data on patients seeking treatment outside of opioid treatment
programs and will provide a better look at prescription drug abuse from the
patient’s perspective,” said Richard C. Dart, M.D., Ph.D., RADARS System
executive director. The RADARS System has already analyzed first quarter 2008 data from
this signal detection system. |
|||||
|
Recent RADARS
System Publications and Presentations §
Campagna E,
Bailey JE, Dart RC. Detection of Prescription
Opioid Abuse/Diversion Using RADARS System Data. The College on Problems of
Drug Dependence Conference. San Juan, Puerto Rico. June, 2008. §
Kirtland
ME, Heltshe SL, Bailey JE, Dart RC. Suicides and Gender: Characterization using RADARS System
Poison Center Data. American Psychiatric Association Conference. Washington,
DC. May 2008. §
Montoya AM,
Heltshe SL, Dart RC. Spatial Analysis of RADARS System Data to Identify
Geographic Hot Spots of Prescription Opioid Abuse. The College on Problems of
Drug Dependence Conference. San Juan, Puerto Rico. June, 2008. §
Spaeth AL, Bailey JE, Dart RC. Characterization
of Buprenorphine Abuse Using RADARS System Poison Center Data. The College on
Problems of Drug Dependence Conference. Poster and Oral Presentation. June,
2008. §
Spiller HA, Lorenz D, Bailey JE, Dart RC. Epidemiological Trends in Prescription Drug Misuse
and Abuse. The College on Problems of Drug Dependence Conference. San Juan,
Puerto Rico. June, 2008. §
Zosel AE,
Campagna E, Bailey JE, Dart RC. Demographic
Variables Associated with Prescription Opioid Abuse and Diversion Detected by
the RADARS System. The College on Problems of Drug Dependence Conference. San
Juan, Puerto Rico. June, 2008. |
||||
|
§ The Drug Information
Association will host its 44th Annual Meeting June 22-26 in Boston, MA. RADARS System Executive Director, § The American Academy of Pain
Management will host its Annual Meeting September 8-11 in Nashville, TN. |
|||||
|
RADARS System
Mission Statement The RADARS System provides timely and
geographically-specific data to the pharmaceutical industry, regulatory
agencies, policymakers and medical/public health officials to aid in
understanding trends in the abuse, misuse, and diversion of prescription
drugs in the United States. |
|||||
|
Rocky Mountain
Poison and Drug Center and Denver Health The RADARS System is a governmental nonprofit operation
of the Rocky Mountain Poison and Drug Center
(RMPDC), an agency of Denver Health
and Hospital Authority (DHHA). The RMPDC has been in operation for more
than 50 years, making it one of the oldest poison control centers in the
nation. DHHA is the safety net hospital for the City and County of Denver.
DHHA is the Rocky Mountain region’s academic Level I trauma center and
includes Denver Public Health, Denver’s 911 emergency medical response
system, nine family health centers, 12 school-based clinics, NurseLine,
correctional care, Denver CARES, the Denver Health Medical Plan, and the
Rocky Mountain Center for Medical Response to Terrorism, Mass Casualties and
Epidemics.
|
|||||
|
RADARS®
System § 777 Bannock Street § Mail Code 0180 § Denver, CO 80204 To
unsubscribe, please reply to this email with “unsubscribe” Questions or
comments? Email the RADARS System at radars@rmpdc.org |
|||||
