Opioid Stewardship

In North Carolina four people die each day from an overdose of opioid related drugs. Unfortunately, while these medications are prescribed with the intent to help alleviate pain, they frequently create more pain. The opioid crisis comes from an excess of opioids in the population. As a result, 73% of teens say it is easy to access prescription drugs from their parent's medicine cabinet. In response to this crisis the UNC Medical Center established the UNC Opioid Stewardship Steering Committee.

The purpose of the committee is to help reduce opioid abuse and diversion in North Carolina.

UNC Opioid Stewardship Committee aims to:

• Increase access to safe and convenient disposal of opioids
• Provide patient education for prescription opioids, pain expectations, and disposal and storage of opioid medications
• Educate providers on opioid prescribing, storage and security of opioid medications
• Develop and implement a data-driven Standard Opioid Prescribing Schedule (SOPS) based upon the surgical procedure and actual patient usage