Prescription medicine misuse in the Asia-Pacific Region: an evolving issue?

Abstract

Prescription medicine misuse, especially misuse of opioids has become a major public healthcare issue in many developed countries such as the United States of America and Australia where this is associated with significant morbidity (Emergency Department visits due to acute toxicity) and mortality. In this review, we looked at the available data obtained from peer-reviewed articles and population surveys to gain an insight into the current situation in the Asia Pacific region. There is currently limited information available, but data from subpopulation surveys in a number of countries suggests that prescription medicine misuse is likely to be an issue of concern from a public health perspective in the Asia Pacific region. The available data suggest that misuse prevalence rates and the medicines that are commonly misused are similar to countries such as the USA and United Kingdom. Further studies are required to determine the overall prevalence of misuse, the harms associated with this and the sources of drugs being misused so that appropriate interventions can be implemented to tackle issues related to prescription medicine misuse in this region.

Protocol for a scoping review on misuse of psychoactive medicines and its consequences

“…Opioid analgesics, sedatives, hypnotics and medicines used in opioid agonist treatment are reported to be the main type of medicines misused 2. Regarding opioids, Canada, Australia and especially the USA, have been experiencing an opioid epidemic,3 4 reflected in the significant morbidity and mortality in these countries currently associated with prescription opioid misuse, sometimes combined with benzodiazepines 5 6. In fact, analgesic opioid misuse in the USA is second only to marijuana use in all ages 2.…”

Regional, national and international datasets: How they improve our understanding of the acute harms associated with prescription medicine misuse

“…[2][3][4][5] There is increasing recognition that the issues relating to prescription medicine misuse described in the United States are a global phenomenon, although until recently this has been less well researched and reported outside of the United States. [6][7][8][9][10][11] There is increasing awareness and concern about the potential harm to health in those who misuse prescription medicines. In a survey of 300 UK-based doctors and other prescribers working in primary care settings, around half of those surveyed felt that patients were not aware of the adverse health consequences of high dose combination codeine medicines and the majority (86%) thought that patients perceived over-the-counter codeine-containing medicines to be safe.…”