U-M School of Nursing Introduces a New Prescription Drug Safety Toolkit for Providers and the General Public
The University of Michigan School of Nursing announces the introduction of the ABCs Prescription Drug Safety Toolkit, a “must have” resource for educating patients, and the general public, about the proper use, risks, and disposal of prescription medications, especially those that can become addictive, like painkillers and tranquilizers. With drug overdose deaths rising by nearly 30% in the U.S. (according to the CDC), reaching an all-time high of 93,000 deaths ever recorded in a 12-month period in 2020, the need for easy-to-explain and easy-to-understand communication tools that educate on the “How To’s” of using, storing, and disposing of leftover prescription medications has never been greater.
Patients who are written a prescription for a controlled medication are often given stacks of papers filled with complicated and confusing language and a lot of information they don’t need, nor do they understand. The ABCs break through this clutter to distill the key points down to how someone prescribed a prescription medication should use, store, and then dispose of any leftover medications. Dr. Carol Boyd, Ph.D., RN, FIAAN, FAAN, has spent years working on the core principles outlined in the ABCs of Prescription Drug Safety because, “We shouldn’t be given something that you cannot understand – there is no way it’s going to increase medication adherence,” Boyd says, “But the ABCs might.”
Developed by some of the country’s leading researchers in substance abuse, and its consequences, from the Center for the Study of Drugs, Alcohol, Smoking, and Health (DASH) at the University of Michigan School of Nursing, this multi-media Toolkit consists of the following components for use with/by healthcare providers and the general public directly:
- An easy-to-use consumer/patient education ABCs pamphlet
- An ABCs poster for display in clinic rooms and other public places
- A one-page document which can serve as a reference article or patient/consumer hand-out
- A short video explaining how to stay safe with controlled (i.e., prescription) medications
ABCs Prescription Drug Safety video
This video features Dr. Carol J. Boyd speaking about how the ABCs of prescription drugs can help keep you and your loved ones safe.
To receive a free sample copy of this Toolkit, contact Mahmoud Abdulkarim via email or call 734-647-4259.
To purchase brochures and posters, click the blue box below and you will be directed to the online storefront. If ordering with short code through QTO, please contact Francis Olegario at Allegra Print-Mail-Marketing at [email protected] or 734-944-1404 ext. 115.
CONTACT INFORMATION:
University of Michigan School of Nursing
Center for the Study of Drugs, Alcohol, Smoking and Health (DASH Center)
Contact person(s): Carol Boyd, DASH Founding Director or Mahmoud Abdulkarim, Administrative Project Coordinator
Phone: Mahmoud Abdulkarim, 734-647-4259
Email: Dr. Carol Boyd or Mahmoud Abdulkarim
