Fifteen Solutions to the Problems of Prescription Drug Abuse

Abstract

In the 17 years since the publication of Pills, Profits, and Politics by Silverman and Lee, not one of that book's proposals has been fully implemented. This article begins by identifying the elements of prescription drug abuse: inappropriate physician prescribing, patient noncompliance, and poor doctor-patient communication. It then offers 15 solutions to these problems; these are divided into nonregulatory and regulatory solutions. Multiple prescription form laws are singled out for special attention and the experience with such a law in New York is discussed. Finally, the article offers some reflections on the optimal balance between nonregulatory and regulatory approaches to the problem of prescription drug abuse.