Count It! Lock It! Drop It!

Don't Be An Accidental Drug Dealer

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • About
    • Who We Are
  • Learn
    • Frequently Asked Questions
    • Opioid Statistics
    • Resources
    • Blog
    • News
    • Videos
  • Take Action
    • Count It! Lock It! Drop It!®
    • Take the Pledge
    • Take-Back Events
  • CLD Communities
    • Find Your Community
      • East Tennessee
      • Middle Tennessee
      • West Tennessee
    • Become a CLD Community
    • CLD Community Trainings
  • Drop Box Finder
  • Contact
  • Donate
  • Home

Guest Column: Dr. Andrea Willis

November 15, 2016 By Alex Windings

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 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention calls an epidemic.

To help combat this growing issue, BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee has enacted new quantity limits on opioids. In addition, we’ve also implemented a prior authorization requirement for new long-acting opioid prescriptions. We’ve also partnered with Count It! Lock It! Drop It!™, to help educate Tennesseans about safe medication storage and disposal.

With a $1.3 million grant from the BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee Health Foundation, our goal is to provide training and media-based public education, so we can inform all of our citizens about safe and proper disposal of prescription drugs.

To read the full story, click here.

Dr. Andrea D. Willis is chief medical officer of BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee.

This was taken from a longer piece that previously ran in The Tennessean, The Commercial Appeal and The Jackson Sun.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: BlueCross Blueshield of Tennessee Health Foundation, opioids, prescription drug abuse

Take the Pledge

* = required field
City:
Zip:
Select a distance:
© Count It! Lock It! Drop It!® is a trademark of the Coffee County Anti-Drug Coalition
info@countitlockitdropit.org

BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee Health Foundation, Inc., an Independent Licensee of BlueCross BlueShield Association