Mind Your Meds: Safe Opioid Disposal Awareness

Driven by the effects of the opioid epidemic on friends, family members, students, and patients, members of the 2019 GEHLI Team “Mission Possible” are dedicated to bolstering educational awareness of safe leftover opioid disposal methods to decrease the supply of opioids in our community. On average, over 2/3 of opioid prescription medications are leftover and lead to later misuse or abuse (JAMA Survey). Despite a decrease in prescription writing for pain medication over the years, the mortality rate from overdose, and the rate of infants born to mothers with opioid abuse continues to steadily increase in Virginia (VDH). Team Mission Possible seeks to promote awareness of both the need and resources available for safe opioid disposal by educating prescribers in the VCU Health system and spreading knowledge to VCU patients, students, faculty, staff, and members of the surrounding community through: educational events on the Monroe Park and Medical campuses; teaming up with Miss Virginia’s “Mind your Meds campaign”; live Facebook interviews; and educational flyers