Ibrahim Fadeyi PharmD, RPh
Pharmacy Advocate
Pharmacy Advocate
On October 24th, I was honored to attend the 17th Annual Drug Free Manatee Red Ribbon Breakfast. Drug Free Manatee has continued to positively impact the community by engaging community partners in order to prevent and reduce substance abuse disorders and promote safety, health, and wellness, especially among the youth. The fight against opiate addiction is still a priority in Manatee County. During the breakfast, Manatee County Sheriff Rick Wells stressed the importance of taking action against opiate addiction and misuse, as the number of hospitalizations from overdoses and deaths have increased from last year.
Manatee YourChoice Health Plan is dedicated to helping fight opiate addiction and properly manage pain. Unfortunately, there may be times that you are in a lot of pain but we are unable to authorize your prescription because there are laws (state and federal) and recommendations from the CDC and the FDA that we, the health plan, and your dispensing pharmacist must follow. The intent of these laws and guidelines is to promote patient safety. These medications can be dangerous, and it is our responsibility to ensure safe and effective use. Some of the restrictions include the number of pills that can be dispensed and the number of days between refills.
Please note: If you doctor prescribes opioids for pain relief – it is not mean you will automatically become addicted.
Here are some facts about short-term & long-term pain management and some of the health plan coverage requirements.
Short term pain management:
- Only take opiate pain medication as needed for pain.
- Some instances where providers may prescribe short term pain medications are after surgery, after a dental procedure, or after an acute injury.
- Studies show that patients can become addicted to opiate medications in as little as 3 days.
- State laws limit the length of treatment for short term pain from 3 days to a maximum of 7 days.
Long term pain management:
- Only take opiate pain medication as needed for pain.
- In order to ensure appropriate and safe prescribing of opiate medications, Manatee Your Choice may request clinical chart notes from the prescriber at the start of long-term pain management, and once per year thereafter.
- Dosage changes may also require a review of clinical chart notes before an approval can be granted.
- Most pharmacies will refill your pain medication no more than two days earlier than the actual refill date.
If your prescription rejects at the pharmacy, please call me at 941-748-4501x6406 so we can begin the prior authorization process. If you need assistance after normal business hours, over the weekend, or on a holiday, and it’s an urgent matter that cannot wait, you can ask your pharmacist to call the Optum RX help desk at 1-855-828-9837. If you would like to reduce the number of pain medications you are currently taking, give me a call so we can work together with your provider to create a plan and discuss some of the options available to you through the health plan.
