An Assessment of Prescription Drug Abuse, Underage Drinking, and Georgia's Prescription Drug Monitoring Program
Assessment conducted by EMSTAR Research to explore prevalence of prescription opioid, sedative, and stimulant drug abuse and misuse, prevalence of underage drinking, and perceptions of Georgia's Prescription Drug Monitoring Program.
Key Prevalence Findings:
- Georgia Student Health Survey - rates declined among students for all three drug groups
- National Poisoning Data System - rates for prescription opiates, sedatives, and stimulants varied little from year to year
- Medical Examiners Drug Overdose Database - opiates accounted for largest proportion of deaths
- National Seizure System - most seizures were in metro Atlanta
High needs areas were identified based on Georgia Student Health Survey and National Poisoning Data System data.
Underage Drinking Findings:
- Georgia Student Health Survey - alcohol use decreased by 10.9% from 2012 to 2016
- National Poisoning Data System - rate of reported ethanol poisoning in 2015 was .5.
- 10,521 arrests were made among 17-20 year olds for "furnishing, purchasing, and possession of alcohol beverages for persons below legal age"
Perceptions of the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program
- Current PDMP features and legislation changes were rated highly effective
- Dentists and vets rarely or never run inquiries in PDMP
- Physicians, pharmacists, and nurse practitioners/physician assistants sometimes run inquiries
- Physicians voiced least average support for specific PDMP features/legislation
- Pharmacists, dentists, and vets voiced slightly higher average support for PDMP features/legislation
- Nurse practitioners/physician assistants voiced highest average support for PDMP
EMSTAR Research, Inc. (2017). An Assessment of Prescription Drug Abuse, Underage Drinking, and Georgia's Prescription Drug Monitoring Program. https://gaspsdata.net/data/assessment-prescription-drug-abuse-underage-drinking-and-georgias-prescription-drug-monitoring