An integrated approach is essential to tackle growing drug dependence epidemic

An integrated approach is essential to tackle growing drug dependence epidemic

A year on from the launch of the College of Medicine Beyond Pills Campaign, leading doctors, pharmacists, politicians and patients convened at the Whole-Person Health Conference in London on Thursday to address the ongoing problem of unnecessary drug prescription. A nationwide lack of dedicated prescribed drug withdrawal services is exacerbating the suffering of millions of patients who have become dependent on drugs prescribed by their doctors for conditions such as depression, anxiety, insomnia and pain.

One in four adults in England is prescribed a potentially dependence-forming drug in any given year. While these drugs benefit some patients, a Public Health England review has called the situation ‘a significant public health issue’ due to serious levels of overprescribing of dependence-forming drugs in the community, with patients prescribed drugs beyond what clinical guidelines advise, or for concerns where there is no clear evidence of efficacy.

Vulnerable communities are particularly at risk, with prescriptions for antidepressants twice as high in deprived areas and opioids and gabapentinoids more often prescribed. The proportion of patients given at least a year of all dependence-forming drug prescriptions increases with greater deprivation and rates of prescribing are higher for the elderly and 1.5 times higher for women.

The launch of a new alliance

To tackle the issue, the College of Medicine Beyond Pills Campaign is joining forces with the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Prescribed Drug Dependence to promote integrated solutions to address the dangerous levels of over- and unnecessary prescribing within the NHS. The two campaigns will work together to develop a flexible integrated approach combining social prescribing (with psychosocial interventions where appropriate) alongside deprescribing to prevent and treat prescribed drug dependence.