HARI looks at response to overdoses

MORE THAN 100 Rhode Islanders have died from accidental overdoses this year.
MORE THAN 100 Rhode Islanders have died from accidental overdoses this year.

PROVIDENCE – The accidental drug overdose problem continues in the state, and the Hospital Association of Rhode Island recently released a statement detailing ways that the state’s hospitals have been responding to the crisis.

More than 100 Rhode Islanders have died from accidental overdoses this year.

Among the ways listed that HARI indicated that hospitals are working to combat the problem: reporting opioid-related overdoses to the R.I. Department of Health within 48 hours; encouraging health care professionals to utilize the prescription monitoring program for all controlled substances; discussing both the benefits and the risks of pain treatment options with patients; tracking prescribing patterns; and creating on-call recovery coaches for patients in emergency departments.

Dr. Michael Fine, the director of the Department of Health, has pointed out that Rhode Island sees more deaths from drug overdoses than it does from motor vehicle accidents, suicides and homicides combined, according to the release.

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HARI also announced that it was an educational partner for two upcoming sessions on best practices for opioid safe use for clinicians managing patients with chronic pain. The sessions will be held on September 10 and September 27. They will be held at the Warren Alpert Medical School Lecture Hall 170, 222 Richmond St., Providence.

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