MISUSE of prescription opioid-based painkillers is rife in rural areas, with elderly people on-selling the drugs to help pay their bills, according to the Rural Doctors Association.
President of the association, Ewen McPhee, told the ABC he believes some are also being bullied into handing over the medications by drug dealers.
The report also cited Mildura pharmacist Eric Oguzkaya, who said elderly customers tended to "fly under the radar" with the problem significantly more widespread than previously suspected.
Oguzkaya said he had heard reports of patients being intercepted and intimidated by dealers outside doctors' surgeries and pharmacies, describing one customer who had been convinced to sell the prescribed opioids to help cover the cost of funeral bills.
McPhee urged the introduction of mandatory real-time monitoring for dispensing of drugs of addiction to help address the problem - meaning doctors and pharmacists would instantly be able to know what each person was taking.
"At the moment what we have is a person goes from GP to GP getting prescription after prescription, hoarding them and on-selling, without any ability to track or monitor them," he said.
Every year 800 Australians die by overdosing on prescription painkillers, with the toll highest in rural and regional areas, the ABC report stated.
The above article was sent to subscribers in Pharmacy Daily's issue from 17 Jul 17
To see the full newsletter, see the embedded issue below or CLICK HERE to download Pharmacy Daily from 17 Jul 17
