Combating Opioid Misuse: Community initiatives

Initiatives to reduce prescribing

• Optimal Prescribing in Pain Management Grants
  The Cardinal Health Foundation awarded nearly $1 million in grants to state pharmacy associations and colleges of pharmacy to impact the opioid epidemic across five states. The grants are designed to engage pharmacists in working with other healthcare providers and patients to support best prescribing strategies.
  
  Grantees include the Maryland State Pharmacy Association, the Missouri State Pharmacy Association, North Carolina Association of Pharmacists, the Raabe College of Pharmacy at Ohio Northern University and the Wisconsin Pharmacy Association.
  
  The Alliance for Integrated Medication Management (AIMM), whose expertise is convening and coaching healthcare organizations to improve outcomes and reduce costs, is leading a learning collaborative for the grantees, designed to accelerate strategy adoption and measurement.

• Best Practices in Opioid Prescribing Symposium
  We hosted the recipients of our 2018 “Best Practices in Opioid Prescribing” grants, pain management experts, and other healthcare providers at a 2-day symposium in Central Ohio, to discuss best practices and success and challenges in managing pain with fewer opioids prescribed.  

• Ohio Hospital Association Partnership
  Thanks to grant funding from the Cardinal Health Foundation, the OHA has engaged 75 of its member hospitals in an opioid prescribing data collaborative.

Initiatives to raise awareness

• Drug take-back events
  According to the 2017 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, more than 53% of those who misused prescription pain medications obtained them from a friend or relative. Disposing of unused or expired medications is one of the easiest things anyone can do to help prevent misuse.
  
  That is why Cardinal Health has participated in the DEA’s National Prescription Drug Take-Back Days each spring and fall at pharmacies across the country. In 2018, Cardinal Health and Kroger began partnering to host biannual, joint drug take-back events at more than 200 local pharmacy locations across the country. These events result in the secure collection and disposal of thousands of pounds of medications each spring and fall.
  
  View the Drug Take-Back Toolkit for pharmacists »
  
  
• Don’t live in Denial, Ohio
  With $1 million in funding over 2 years, we have partnered with the Ohio Opioid Education Alliance to increase the impact of its community education campaign, "Denial, Ohio."
  
  The campaign has two key messages: talk to kids about the risks of prescription drug misuse, and safely dispose of unused medications. With our engagement, Generation Rx prevention education resources are linked to the Alliance website, so parents, teachers and other concerned community members can take action and teach others about using medications safely.
  
  
• Educating our employees
  We recently launched a new online training, mandatory for all U.S. and Puerto Rico employees, designed to provide a shared understanding of the opioid epidemic, as well as the role that Cardinal Health plays in finding solutions to fight the epidemic. The training arms employees with facts about the epidemic and provides tips on how to talk about the issue with friends and family.

Initiatives to catalyze community solutions

• Community-level response to the opioid crisis
  In 2018, we awarded eight grants to community collaborative organizations across the state of Ohio, to further their work on fighting the epidemic locally with multiple initiatives, with the goal of reducing addiction, overdoses and deaths related to opioid misuse.
  
  After 18 months of grant-funded work, these organizations have achieved a 42% decrease in opioid-related hospital admissions and a 32% decrease in opioid overdose deaths.

• Prevention education/awareness grants
  Over the last decade, we have awarded millions of dollars in grants to spread the messages and impact of Generation Rx. (Please note: The Foundation is not currently awarding prevention grants.)