On Friday, July 18, Commissioners Varney and Dreyzehner presented the Governor's Prescription for Success plan to NE TN. Prior to the press conference, coalitions, treatment providers, judges, academic researchers and politicians met with Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse staff to discuss what prescription drug abuse/misuse looks like in our area.
The Nashville team identified the number of controlled substances that are dispensed as a key factor in the current problem. The plan is meant to provide leadership in public policy to reduce the problem. They acknowledged that incarceration is not working.
The report topics that participants showed the most interest were better regulation of practitioners and pain clinics, using the controlled monitoring database for oversight of offenders, better collaboration to reduce availability, expanding evidence-based prevention, expanding SBIRT (Screening, Brief Intervention and Referral to Treatment), and developing tools for judges to understand reports of intoxication the same way that DUI data informs them.
Following the focus group was a well attended media event where many front line providers spoke about the issue from their experience. An excellent review of that portion of the day is provided by Nick Shepard of the Times News.
Following the focus group was a well attended media event where many front line providers spoke about the issue from their experience. An excellent review of that portion of the day is provided by Nick Shepard of the Times News.
