Sununu forms council to staunch flow of prescription opioids

Gov. Chris Sununu (Courtesy photo)

CONCORD - Gov. Chris Sununu on Thursday signed an executive order forming the New Hampshire Opioid Overprescribing and Misuse Project Advisory Council.

The council will work to thwart opioid addiction in the State of New Hampshire by examining opioid prescribing and misuse patterns, and developing recommendations for interventions. In signing this executive order, Gov. Sununu reiterated his dedication to advancing collaboration across local and state agencies and the private sector to fight the crisis.
"It's important to address opioid addiction where it often begins - through improper prescribing behavior and misuse," said Gov. Sununu. "We are pleased to partner with the dedicated members of the New Hampshire Opioid Overprescribing and Misuse Project Advisory Council to identify new strategies to address this critical public health challenge."
The Council will examine findings and recommend actions, including policy changes, to reduce opioid overprescribing and misuse. Council members will also help build a dashboard featuring baseline measurements of prescribing behavior, and recommend advanced analytics by which patterns of unnecessary or excessive opioid prescriptions that may lead to addiction and overdose will be identified.
The New Hampshire Council's work is intended to serve as a model that other state governments can use to analyze, identify, and prevent prescription misuse by beneficiaries, providers, and pharmacies. The council brings together public and private experts in health policy, public health, academia, and healthcare systems, including representatives from the New Hampshire Hospital Association, the New Hampshire Medical Society, the University of New Hampshire, Dartmouth College, Catholic Medical Center, the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program, and the New Hampshire Board of Pharmacy.