Adam Tamburin April 27, 2017 Middle Tennesseans will get a chance to unload their old prescriptions Saturday when pharmacies across the area participate in the National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day. The bi-annual event, which is supported by the Drug Enforcement Administration nationally and the BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee Health Foundation, has taken on added significance […]
Highlighting National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day
Dr. Andrea Willis April 26, 2017 Prescription Drug Take-Back Day We see the impact of opioid abuse daily. We see it on the faces of family members and friends who are desperate to help their children struggling with addiction. We see it on the faces of co-workers who have lost family members to a drug […]
Dispose of unused medications at take-back event
Greg James, M.D. April 22, 2017 Every day, we see the impact of opioid abuse in our hospitals throughout Middle Tennessee. We see it when overdose victims are brought to our emergency rooms. We see it in physicians’ offices when patients struggling with addiction ask for help. We see it on the faces of parents […]
Health foundation hosting prescription drug collection events across the state
April 20, 2017 Tennessee residents are invited to bring their unused or expired medications to one of more than 100 National Drug Take-Back events being held statewide April 29. The 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. events aim to provide safe, convenient locations to dispose of prescription drugs and other medications, and to raise awareness about […]
The ONE Item You Need to Get Rid of This Month!
StyleBlueprint How many times have you been prescribed pain medication to help you heal after an injury or surgery? And if so, we bet you probably felt better before you even finished the prescription, which left you with a half-finished bottle of pills that’s likely been collecting dust in the back of your medicine cabinet. […]
Secure Your Medications Before the Celebrations
Keeping prescriptions stored properly reduces risk of misuse, serious situations CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — When preparing to host holiday gatherings, you may not immediately think to add ‘properly store medication’ to your to-do list. However, with prescription drug abuse and overdose increasing, it’s important to take appropriate measures to secure your medicines before visitors arrive. “Many […]
Guest Column: Dr. Andrea Willis
Each year, thousands of lives are taken by what has become one of the biggest health crises in recent years – prescription drug abuse. In 2015, there were approximately 1,263 drug overdose deaths in Tennessee. While pain medication is necessary to treat many conditions, there is a need to take action to help prevent what the […]
BCBS, UT to provide opioid antidote, training to law enforcement
How many of the 1,263 Tennesseans who died of opioid overdoses in 2014 could have been saved with an opioid antidote? There’s no way to know, said Don Green, executive director of the University of Tennessee Law Enforcement Innovation Center, but he hopes some training the center is providing starting this month can dramatically decrease […]
A Grassroots Program Grows
Count It! Lock it! Drop it! reduced prescription drug misuse in Coffee County and is going statewide. The greatest danger of prescription drugs is the widespread belief they aren’t dangerous. “In a 2009 survey of students in Coffee County, we saw that there was a very high rate of prescription drug use, with many kids […]
Tennesseans Share Opioid Abuse Stories in BlueCross-Sponsored Ad Series
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — In the fight to reduce prescription painkiller abuse across the state, BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee Health Foundation has launched a public service campaign – “The Faces of Opioid Addiction” – to encourage Tennesseans to safely store or properly dispose of medications. The first of three TV spots recently debuted in Knoxville and […]