Consumers and caregivers are encouraged to download all of these complimentary resources and share them with family members and loved ones.

Our Theme
What's New for TAP Month 2009
"Maximizing Your Role as a Teen Influencer:
What You Can Do To Help Prevent Teen Prescription Drug Abuse"
Presentation Workshop/PowerPoint and Background Materials
Instructions for Promoting a Local "Key Influencer" Event (Coming Soon)
Additional Resources and Programs from NCPIE Members and Partners You Can Use
Do You Need More Ideas for Observing "TAP" Month?
Revisit "How to Be Medicine Smart™
Previous TAP Observances (online)

The major theme of NCPIE's "Talk About Prescriptions" Month last year (October 2008) was the value and importance of patients, caregivers and healthcare professionals being "Medicine Smart™."

Why is NCPIE repeating this message as part of "Talk About Prescriptions" Month 2009? The answer is simple — unsafe and inappropriate medicine use (misuse and abuse) continue to be major public health problems costing our nation too much suffering, too many lives, and too many dollars in avoidable healthcare spending:

• $290 billion each year in otherwise avoidable medical spending — 13 percent of total health care expenditures – is the cost to the healthcare system due to patients who do not take their medications as prescribed according to a new report (August 2009) by the New England Health Care Institute (NEHI). The report underscores the particular vulnerability of chronic disease patients to nonadherence and its repercussions.
• One in Five Teens Have Borrowed or Loaned Drugs – according to a new study appearing online in the Journal of Adolescent Health, (August 2009) about 20 percent of U.S. teens age 12 to 17 exchange prescription drugs such as antibiotics and allergy medications with friends, a practice that can be dangerous and potentially deadly. For example, a teen who's taking the acne medication Accutane — which has been linked to birth defects — may give some to a friend who is pregnant but doesn't yet realize it, the researchers said. The study also found that almost a third of teens who took a "borrowed" prescription didn't tell their doctor, a practice which can lead to dangerous drug interactions.
• Rx Medicines Misused by Over 12% of High School Seniors — A survey of more than 12,000 U.S. high-school seniors appearing recently in the Archives of Pediatric Adolescent Medicine (August 2009) found that 12.3% said they had used opioid-based prescription drugs for non-medical purposes, with 8% saying they had done so within the past year. Students said they used drugs like hydrocodone, oxycodone, hydromorphone, meperidine, morphine and codeine to relax, relieve tension, get high, experiment, relieve pain, or have a good time with their friends. Those who used the drugs for reasons other than pain relief were more likely to use other addictive drugs and have signs of addictive disorders, researchers said.
• Most Childhood Poisons Linked to Medicines — Unsupervised children who get into the medicine cabinet at home account for 80% of accidental poisonings among youths, according to new CDC data appearing in a recent issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine (September 2009). Medication errors by caregivers and drug abuse or misuse by teens and preteens accounted for an additional 14% of cases. Emergency department visits for unintentional poisoning involved prescription or over-the-counter medication in 68.9% of pediatric cases. Children taking medications without supervision caused 10 times as many poisonings as overdose errors by a parent or other caregiver in the national study of emergency department surveillance. One of every 180 children age 2 years is treated in an emergency department for a medication overdose.
• Number of Americans Taking Antidepressants Doubles — One in ten Americans over the age of six is taking antidepressants. That number has doubled in just one decade from just over 13 million to 27 million, according to a study released in the Archives of General Psychiatry (August 2009). This equates to nearly 10 percent of Americans — or 27 million people — taking antidepressants in 2005, the last year for which data were available at the time the study was written. That's about twice the number in 1996. Notably, the majority of patients taking antidepressants weren't being treated for depression. Half were taking them for back pain, nerve pain, fatigue, sleep difficulties, or other problems. Additionally, the number of patients receiving psychotherapy while taking antidepressants decreased — from 31.5 % to less than 20%. Approximately about 80% of patients being treated with antidepressants in the study were treated by doctors other than psychiatrists.
• Poor Adherence: Teens' Too Busy / Don't Perceive Asthma Medication Benefits — teenagers with asthma are "too busy" to use their medications and often do not believe in their benefits, say researchers who assessed health beliefs in young people with asthma (Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (June 2009). It has previously been suggested that poor adherence to asthma medications in individuals aged 15-20 years contributes substantially to asthma-related morbidity in that age group. However, there have been few adherence studies in this age group, despite the fact that the organizational and behavioral skills that largely determine adherence are developed during late adolescence. Interviews confirmed that most teens used their medications intermittently despite understanding that they were designed to help them breathe more easily. This was often because they were "too busy" or because they "disliked the taste," or, in 20% of cases, because they thought their medications were unnecessary.
• One in 5 skipping Prescription Meds — Unhealthy Impact of the Economy — The recession is taking a toll on some American workers' health as nearly one in three (27%) survey respondents report forgoing healthcare treatment to save money on co-payments or co-insurance costs. About 20% of respondents report that they skipped taking their prescription medication dosage as prescribed by their doctor. The National Business Group on Health (NBGH) survey of 1,500 workers employed at large employers (2,000 or more employees) was conducted in March 2009. Workers in the survey ranged between 22 and 69 years of age and are provided benefits through an employer-sponsored or union-sponsored health plan.

"Are You Medicine Smart™?" poses a simple question with profound implications for good health. For example, being "Medicine Smart™" means getting all the information necessary to use your medicine correctly. That means asking questions and sharing important information about past medicine use to better ensure that you get the most benefit from your treatment. If you're not sure what questions to ask about your medicine - see "10 Important Questions to Help You Be Medicine Smart™."

Being "Medicine Smart™" also means knowing several key facts about the medicines you are currently taking - and being able to share that information with the members of your healthcare team with each visit. That means keeping track of the names of the medicine(s) you are taking, how much you take, when and how you take it, why you take it, and when you started taking it (for how long), for example.

That's a lot to remember.

Fortunately, there is help available from NCPIE and others to make it easy for you to keep track of your personal medicine information. See "Making a Medicine List Makes You "Medicine Smart™" for access to nearly a dozen sources where you print out a medicine list for yourself and other members of your family. Some can even be filled in, updated, and printed from the computer - making your medicine list just a click away whenever it's needed. This also makes it possible to email your medicine list to your healthcare provider if requested, and to whoever may be providing care-giving support for a loved one.

On-line and downloadable medicine lists and other resource materials to support safe and appropriate medicine use all year round are provided here. NCPIE encourages consumers to participate actively with their healthcare providers in all aspects of healthcare decision-making. When medicines are part of the treatment, that means being the key member of what NCPIE calls the Medicine Education Team by taking the time to become "Medicine Smart™."

"Medicine Smart™" 2009 Tool Kit

Here's What Makes YOU "Medicine Smart™" Downloadable one page list of 9 important things you can do to be "Medicine Smart." 10 Important Questions to Help You Be "Medicine Smart™" Downloadable one page list of 10 important questions to help get information about your medicine. Making a Medicine List Makes You "Medicine Smart™" This resource includes nearly a dozen online sources where you can get a medicine list. Many can be filled out, updated when needed, and saved to the computer for printing out before each medical visit. 3 "Medicine Smart" Mini Posters: These 3 free downloadable 8 ½ x 11" posters have multiple uses, including: display in high traffic areas like worksites, libraries, and meeting rooms. So print them out, save them to your computer and e-mail them to family and friends to encourage them to get a Medicine List. Place in your organizational newsletters and magazines to alert readers about how they too can be "Medicine Smart™." "Etc. Etc. Yada-Yada-Yada" "One of These Could Save Your Life" "Your Medicine List" Make Notes & Take Notes Before, During, and After My Doctor's Visit When you are Prescribed an Off-Label Medicine - What You Need to Know (Source: National Council on Patient Information and Education, 2009)