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Substance Misuse

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 24 July 2018

Tuesday, 24 July 2018

Questions (1418)

Róisín Shortall

Question:

1418. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Health his views on the sharply increasing use of oxycontin; and the steps he is taking to prevent addiction to this and other painkillers [32842/18]

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Written answers

My Department is aware of recent reports on trends indicating the increased prescribing of certain drugs.

In Ireland the Medical Council is the statutory body for the registration and regulation of doctors engaged in medical practice. The Council has set out specific requirements for doctors regarding prescribing of drugs at section 42 of its Guide to Professional Conduct and Ethics for Registered Medical Practitioners (2016). While the Guide is not a legal code, it sets out the principles of professional practice and conduct that all doctors registered with the Medical Council are expected to follow.  The Guide advises that doctors must be aware of the dangers of drug dependency when prescribing benzodiazepines, opiates such as oxycontin, and other drugs with addictive potential.

The HSE’s multi-disciplinary Medicines Management Programme (MMP) works with the National Medicines Information Centre (NMIC) and the National Centre for Pharmacoeconomics (NCPE), in collaboration with the HSE-Primary Care Reimbursement Service (PCRS), to provide sustained national leadership relating to issues such as the quality of the medicines management process, access to medicines and overall expenditure on medicines. It aims to promote safe, effective and cost effective prescribing.

The MMP work plan includes monitoring the utilisation of all medicines with a high prescribing frequency and/or high expenditure based on data from the PCRS.

Additionally, in October 2017 the Medical Council of Ireland and the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland launched joint guidance on the Safe Prescribing and Dispensing of Controlled Drugs aimed at registered medical practitioner and pharmacists.

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