BitterPill.IN.gov is one-stop-shop resource for Hoosiers and medical community

Information about prescription drug abuse – including how to recognize signs and symptoms and where to find help – is now a click away.

Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller and the Indiana Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention Task Force teamed up today at the Indiana State Fair to launch www.BitterPill.IN.gov. This comprehensive website is part of an upcoming statewide public awareness campaign targeting Indiana’s prescription drug abuse epidemic.

According to the Indiana State Department of Health (ISDH), 718 Hoosiers died from accidental drug overdoses in 2011, compared to 654 deaths the year before. More people abuse prescription drugs in the U.S. than cocaine, heroin, hallucinogens and inhalants combined, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

“Statistics show that abuse and misuse among all age groups is a serious problem in Indiana and that’s a bitter pill for our state to swallow,” Zoeller said. “Whether you are seeking ideas on how to talk to your teenager about whether they are abusing prescription drugs, searching for help for yourself or a loved one or just want to know how to properly dispose of your unwanted medications, this new website serves as a one-stop shop. I believe consumers need to be armed with information and the right resources so we can try to put an end to this epidemic.”

Zoeller said www.Bitterpill.IN.gov served as an official State Fair sponsor on Friday in attempt to educate more Hoosiers about prescription drug abuse. Chief Medical Officer at ISDH, Dr. Joan Duwve, serves with Zoeller as co-chair of the task force and said public awareness is a critical component to tackling this statewide problem.

“We have to recognize prescription drug abuse for the serious problem that it is,” said Duwve. “According to the 2011 Indiana Youth Risk Behavior Survey, one in five Hoosier high school students has used controlled substances without a prescription. Teens have easy access to most of these drugs because they are commonly prescribed and end up in the home medicine cabinet. What is perceived as a ‘safe’ high, because a doctor prescribed it, too often ends up being deadly.”

In addition to learning more about the efforts of Indiana Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention Task Force, Zoeller said the top five features of www.BitterPill.IN.gov include:

• Knowing the dangers: Learn about the consequences of misuse and abuse of prescription drugs and what impact this epidemic has had on Indiana;
• Dealing with addiction: Familiarize yourself with the signs and symptoms of prescription drug abuse in all ages. Access talking points to use when speaking with family or friends when you suspect a problem, and obtain information about treatment resources and referrals;
• Proper prescription disposal: Learn how to dispose of your unwanted or expired medications in way that protects the environment and ensures they don’t wind up in the wrong hands;
• Clinical resources: Access information written by Hoosier physicians which can help ensure optimal treatment with regards to commonly misused and abuse medications; and
• Reporting illegal activities: Learn how to report illegal activities whether it involves a physician, friend or someone else you know.

Zoeller was also joined by local health officials today for the website’s launch who shared in the state’s concern for the growing number of accidental deaths related to prescription drug overdoses.

“Adults and adolescents have the perception that prescription drugs are not as harmful as illegal drugs because they come from doctors,” said Virginia A. Caine, M.D., director of the Marion County Public Health Department. “Since 1999, more women are dying from prescription drug abuse than from cervical cancer or homicides, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Also, prescription drug abuse has increased among men, with the highest rate of abuse among young adults ages 18 to 25.”

Zoeller said his office and the task force will be announcing more details about the statewide public awareness campaign later this month. Consumers can receive updates on the efforts to fight prescription drug abuse by “liking” Zoeller’s Facebook page or by following him on Twitter @INATTYGENERAL.

In 2012, Zoeller launched the task force made up of state legislators, law enforcement, members of the medical community, health officials, pharmacists, state and local agencies and education providers. The goal of the task force is to significantly reduce the abuse of controlled prescription drugs and to decrease the number of deaths associated with these drugs in Indiana.

The task force made recommendations to the state Legislature for new rules, regulations and state statutes. Stemming from its recommendations is a new law which requires an owner of a clinic that prescribes, dispenses or administers controlled substances to obtain an Indiana Controlled Substance Registration (CSR) for each facility they own, if they don’t otherwise hold a CSR.

The new law also calls on the Medical Licensing Board, through new rule making procedures, to allow the Attorney General’s office to move more quickly in taking enforcement action against practitioners who overprescribe and obtain records for its investigation.  Zoeller said his office and other stakeholders are being careful to make recommendations that include appropriate due process protections that balance consideration of physicians’ right and business operation needs, while still providing effective tools that will enhance the ability to protect the public.

Since January 2012, Zoeller’s office has taken action against more than 15 doctors for prescribing addictive painkillers outside of what is considered medically appropriate.

As many of you know, this year was a “long session” because it was a budget year. The state’s 2014-2015 budget dominated much of the conversation and received the most attention – appropriately so as the dollars and cents divided between different state agencies and government responsibilities is critical to their functionality. We have a great Ways and Means team, the committee that puts forth the budget for the entire General Assembly to confer on. The committee works incredibly hard to ensure Indiana lives within its means and focuses on the everyday Hoosier.

The budget supported one of our biggest accomplishments this session, the Indiana Career Council (ICC). With unanimous support from both chambers, this 16 member council is tasked with aligning the various participants in the state’s educational, job skills and career training system in a way which best serves Hoosiers.

Indiana is experiencing growth at such a rapid rate that Hoosier companies who are ready to hire are having trouble finding enough qualified applicants to fill available jobs. With unemployment still hovering around 8 percent, this council aims to do more to address this so-called “skills gap” facing Hoosiers, so they can get the skills they need and get back to work. To highlight the shortfall, sixty-seven percent of manufacturing companies in Indiana are reporting shortages of qualified workers. Of those, over half of them anticipate that percentage to increase over the next three years.

The Legislature, and those who are on the council, are working to reverse this trend. A trained and educated workforce is critical for remaining competitive with neighboring states and attracting businesses to Indiana. Recognizing this, the council was formed to provide greater consistency between what is being provided by the education and skills training programs in Indiana and the state job market’s existing and future needs.

With nearly one-third of the state’s workforce lacking the necessary skills to succeed in our economy, one of the ICC’s most important tasks will be in addressing the shortage of qualified workers for current employment opportunities. A large part of this is simply ensuring that people know what training opportunities are available to them. To make this as straightforward as possible, the ICC will create a system that makes it easy for people seeking job training to go to a central location that details all of the training opportunities available to them.

Currently, there are numerous entities that all play a role in training Indiana’s workforce. These include the Department of Work Force Development (DWD), Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC) and colleges like Ivy Tech. The ICC includes members from these entities in

addition to representatives of the manufacturing and business sectors and members of the Legislature, allowing them to all come to the same table and coordinate the best practices for producing a successful workforce.

In May, Chief Executive magazine released their annual “Best & Worst States” survey. Indiana ranks 1st in the Midwest and 5th in the nation. As our pro-business environment continues to encourage businesses to locate and expand here, I anticipate that the ICC will prove to be an invaluable resource in our attempts to bridge the skills gap and tackle underemployment. It is imperative that people coming out of Indiana’s education and workforce development programs have the necessary skills to find employment in Indiana’s job market.

Job opportunities are essential to our state’s continued success and so is a highly educated workforce ready to meet those opportunities. By bringing together the principal stakeholders in today’s market, we are helping to ensure that Hoosier workers have the tools they need to succeed in today’s globally dynamic marketplace. In doing so, I believe that we are securing a strong state for many years to come.

Next deadline to register for Do Not Call list is Tuesday, Aug. 20

 

INDIANAPOLIS – Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller’s office is now sharing caller-ID numbers of suspected illegal telemarketers with companies that block spam callers for their customers.

Since January, the Attorney General’s office has received more than 8,600 Do Not Call complaints and more than half of those complaints are about prerecorded calls, more commonly called “Robocalls”.

Zoeller said that while many investigations into the source of those calls turn up empty due to internet-based technology called “Voice Over Internet Protocol” (VOIP) most of the reported caller ID numbers are now being shared with three companies that can use the numbers to block more calls for their customers.

“Sharing our database of spam callers with private businesses allows us to help Indiana consumers who pay for additional call-blocking services and are tired of receiving annoying sales calls,” Zoeller said. “These new partnerships add another layer to the ongoing efforts of my office to cut down on the number of unwanted calls Hoosiers receive.”

The Attorney General’s office has already shared thousands of spam caller-ID numbers with Nomorobo, Ooma, Inc. and the Kedlin Company. Zoeller said his office is also looking to partner with other businesses and organizations that offer similar call block technology.

Nomorobo was one of two winners of the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) public challenge to develop the best overall solution to block illegal robocalls. The company received $25,000 for its proposal which focused on intercepting and filtering out illegal prerecorded calls using technology to “blacklist” robocaller phone numbers and “whitelist” numbers associated with acceptable incoming calls. In addition to receiving telemarketing numbers from the Indiana Attorney General’s office it also receives spam call numbers from the FTC’s database.

The Kedlin Company reported that the data supplied by Zoeller’s office resulted in 35,000 unwanted calls being blocked for its customers nationwide over a two month period – that’s about 583 blocked calls per day. Ooma Inc. is an Internet phone service provider which offers its customers a community blacklist option to stop telemarketers before they call.

Zoeller said that when consumers file Do Not Call complaints they are asked to give the caller-ID number that appeared when they received the telemarketing call. Those reported caller ID numbers, as well as the date and time of the call or text message, and name of the telemarketer are shared with the partnership companies – all at no cost to them.

The next quarterly deadline to help stop annoying sales calls and text messages is Tuesday, Aug. 20. Consumers can register their residential landline, cell, VOIP or prepaid wireless numbers for free by visitingwww.IndianaConsumer.com or by calling 1.888.834.9969.

Individuals do not need to re-register unless their address has changed. Out-of-state area codes can also be added as long as the billing address is located in Indiana. Those consumers who are registered and receive an unwanted call can file a complaint with the Attorney General’s Office by visiting www.IndianaConsumer.com and clicking on “file a complaint.”

Zoeller said consumer complaints help the Attorney General’s office bring enforcement actions against violators and stop unwanted calls. Since 2009, the office has obtained 110 settlements or judgments against companies that violated Indiana’s telephone privacy laws. The total awarded to the state has been more than $18.7 million.Zoeller said this money collected is used to defray the cost of enforcing the state’s telephone privacy laws.