US: Improved labelling of opioids could help save lives

03 July 2018

Given that the primary cause of overdose death in the USA is related to prescribed opioids, one potential strategy to improve awareness and decrease morbidity could include improved labeling. An unexplored option for improving the healthcare quality and safety for patients currently prescribed opioids would be to require pharmaceutical companies to provide a morphine milligram equivalent (MME) on opioid packaging.
Labeling opioid packaging with MME per dose will promote clearer communication about opioid strength between patients and physicians. Labeling MME on packaging could help prevent prescriber errors. An article about this research was published in Current Pain and Headache Reports.
Click here for an abstract of the article about the research.
Click here for more information about the NVC project Pharmaceutical Packaging Innovation.
Click here for more information about the Live Online NVC E-Course Pharmaceutical Packaging.

This news item is also included in our monthly overview, the NVC Members-only Update. If you have any questions, please contact us: info@nvc.nl, +31-(0)182-512411.