KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The opioid issue in the metro and across the country is twofold – people abuse the drug on the street while others misuse prescription medications.
In most cases addiction starts with one prescription.
"I’ve had my patients tell me to my face, if you don’t prescribe it I am going to buy it on the street," Dr. Fariha Shafi of Truman Medical Center said.
Opioid use and overdoses have caused a record number of deaths in the country.
The National Institute on Drug Abuse said that in 2015, 92 Million Americans took pain pills. That’s one in three adults.
Dr. Shafi said overprescribing is one thing that leads to addiction.
Pharmaceutical companies can also play a role.
A Senate investigation discovered that Insys, an Arizona company, allegedly worked with doctors to give strong cancer medication to people who didn’t have the disease.
"The woman involved in the case we found, actually ended up dying of a fentanyl overdose as a result of this fraudulent activity of this manufacturer of opioids," Senator Claire McCaskill said.
Senator McCaskill is the ranking member of the committee leading the investigation.
Dr. Shafi said doctors need to be able to track if patients are abusing medication.
This summer Governor Greitens approved a drug monitoring program. Missouri was the last state in the country to do so.
The program doesn’t allow doctors and pharmacists to see if people are shopping around for drugs, so Dr. Shafi said she came up with her own solution.
"I make them sign a pain contract. They have to agree to random drug screenings. They are aware that I should be the only physician prescribing their pain medication," Dr. Shafi said.
Opioid abuse is showing no sign of slowing down. Dr. Shafi said education about the effects will go a long way.
