Medicine Repackaging – Blessing to Prevent Drug Overdose

A drug overdose occurs when a drug is administered in larger amounts than prescribed. This may result in damage to organs and even death. Doctors play a major role in ensuring that their patients do not overdose on medicines, especially prescription medicines.

The use of prescription repackaging services makes it easier to control the adherence of your patient to medication through the on-site physician dispensary service.

Overdose of medications in numbers

In the United States, the number of opioid overdose fatalities is on the rise. In reality, opioid overdose-related deaths have also surpassed the number of deaths in recent years caused by weapons, suicides, auto crashes, and HIV/AIDS. Roughly 64,000 Americans died of an opioid overdose in 2016 alone.

Signs of an overdose of a drug

Drug overdose either be accidental (taking the wrong medication or dosage) or deliberate (taking the wrong medication or dosage) (taking a drug in large amounts to achieve a desired effect)

Generally, a person who overdosed on a certain medication will experience a more pronounced degree of the side effects of the drug. The symptoms and signs can include the following:

Abnormal critical signs

Pulse rate, respiratory rate, blood pressure and temperature can get reduced, increased or absent.

Alterations in the level of consciousness

The patient may get in different states of consciousness including confused, sleepy, comatose or restless. This is an attribution of oxygen (usually low amount) delivered in the brain. The patient could suffer from brain damage if not treated promptly.

Chest pains

Chest pains can occur from heart or lung damage. The patient may suffer from shortness of breath as well.

The skin may appear pale, flushed, cool or sweaty, dry or hot.

Gastrointestinal problems

Abdominal pain, nausea and diarrhea establish GI problems. A hazardous warning is the appearance of blood in the vomit or stool.

Onsite dispensary to prevent a drug overdose

In 2016, there were 63,000 deaths linked to overdose on prescription opioids. One of the most abused prescription medicines in the United States remains opioid, a drug used to treat severe and chronic pain.

Moreover, counterfeit medications that are being marketed at lower rates can lead to drug overdose.

Via in-office physician dispensing systems like PD-RX Pharmaceuticals, health care professionals can closely track their patient’s prescription compliance. This will help avoid unintended opioid overdose by ensuring that the patient will be given the appropriate, FDA-approved prescription in its proper form and dosage. Patients are therefore told that real and not counterfeit is the medicine they will get from the point-of-care.

**Disclaimer: The information on this page is not intended to be a doctor's advice, nor does it create any form of patient-doctor relationship.