Business in Iowa claims that the “Billion Pill Pledge” can cut opioid use by 70%

Cedar Rapids, Iowa – Attorney General Brenna Bird of Iowa was joined on Monday by representatives from the medical community to talk about alternatives to prescription drugs under the state’s Billion Pill Pledge initiative.

Bird said, “The reality of today is that the opioid crisis has affected just about everybody.”

Bird claims that post-operative leftover medications are a major issue. “There are leftover medicines after surgery. After a treatment or operation, there may be leftover medication that is even in your home cabinet or drawer. And the figures are astonishing. In Iowa, there are ten million unused medications annually, according to Bird.

Remaining tablets can raise the chance of an overdose, according to Bird. “A household’s risk of an opioid overdose rises by 60% with each opioid prescription filled. Thus, one fill. “The risk of an opioid overdose increases by 625% if there are two within six months,” stated Bird.

Treating patients for pain with fewer medications is one strategy to reduce the amount of leftover drugs, according to John Greenwood of Goldfinch Health.

“The best predictor of how many opioids you’re going to take is not your procedure, not how much pain you’re in. It’s the number of opioids you’re given,” Greenwood said.

As a participant in the Billion Pill Pledge, Greenwood claims that his company is lowering opioid usage and prescription refill requests in Iowa by almost 70%.

Greenwood Small gestures like letting patients receive a drink before surgery can help patients feel less pain afterward. According to Harvard research, patients who received Gatorade as a liquid substitute were able to leave the hospital one full day earlier, according to Greenwood.

Advil and Tylenol together, according to Greenwood, can lessen pain more effectively than narcotics. Nor are they addicting. “The most exciting news is that adding acetaminophen almost doubles the efficacy of Ibuprofen, making it three times more effective than Percocet, which is treating the inflammation at its source,” said Greenwood.

According to Greenwood, the goal is to be more cautious when administering opioids rather than to completely eradicate them. In other words, if you need an opioid, you can have one, but you only need a lot less of them, and you should add them last rather than first, according to Greenwood.

There is no estimated time frame provided in the pledge for when they believe the number of pills will be reduced.

Six hospitals in Iowa have reportedly fully adopted the Billion Pill Pledge, according to the website. The program is currently being implemented at six more hospitals.