State hopes to reduce unintentional prescription drug overdoses

Shane Player, 26, was badly injured in a head-on car crash in 2006. His ear was torn off, he had 64 stitches on his face and he suffered extensive nerve damage.

Although his body did start to mend, his wounds, both physical and emotional, would overcome him. The pain medication that at first made life bearable, seven months later killed him.

On Dec. 17, 2006, he became a Utah statistic — one of hundreds of deaths attributed to unintentional prescription drug overdose. Unintentional over-the-counter and prescription overdoses killed more Utahns that year than motor vehicle crashes.

Player's mom, Linda Player, told the story to reporters Thursday as the Utah Department of Health kicked off an education campaign that targets those unintentional deaths. Its motto is "Rx: Use only as directed," and it includes radio, television and print ads, as well as a component designed to help prescribing physicians better understand the problem and help solve it, said Dr. David Sundwall, UDOH director.

"It's a growing problem affecting families, friends and communities," he said. "It is squarely on the agency as a public health policy problem we need to handle."

The Office of the Medical Examiner investigated 476 drug-related deaths in 2006 — fewer than 100 of them caused by illegal drugs. Medical examiner Dr. Todd Grey, in fact, first noted the increasing number of prescription and OTC-related deaths and called it to officials' attention. Almost two-thirds of those deaths resulted from legal drugs, either prescription, over-the-counter or a combination, and the victim's average age was 42 years. The deaths were almost evenly divided between men and women.

Sundwall said 24 of the state's 29 counties saw at least one of the drug-associated deaths. The responsible substances most often seen included methadone, morphine, hydrocodone and fentanyl. There were also deaths associated with non-narcotic drugs.

State epidemiologist Dr. Robert Rolfs said it's not really clear why Utah has such a high incidence. But he noted that the number of medications prescribed in Utah has increased "a lot in the last decade." And some of the drugs, including methadone — which stops controlling pain before it leaves the body, creating a potentially dangerous cumulative effect — are tricky to use.

State health officials, he said, hope to give prescribing health-care providers "tools" to help them prescribe medications for safe use. He said the guidelines are expected out in July.