2,100 pounds of medication collected during National Drug Take Back Day
Six Medical City hospitals hosted their third annual drug take-back events, collecting unused medications for safe disposal.
Dallas, Texas — Six Medical City Healthcare hospitals collected 2,100 pounds of medications during its 3rd annual drug take back events on Oct. 29. Part of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) National Prescription Drug Take Back Day, the events raise awareness about the dangers of opioid misuse and the importance of safe and proper disposal of all unused or expired medications.
“As a leading healthcare provider in North Texas, we believe it is vital to increase awareness of this important issue and offer our community a safe way to dispose of medications to prevent them from falling into the wrong hands,“ says Medical City Healthcare Chief Medical Officer Joseph Parra, MD.
Law enforcement officers from the Arlington, Dallas, Denton, Frisco, Irving and McKinney Police Departments collected unused or expired prescription and over-the-counter medications at six Medical City Healthcare hospitals. In 2021, there were more than 107,000 drug overdose deaths in the United States according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - nearly a 15% increase in drug-related deaths from 2020.
As an affiliate of HCA Healthcare, Medical City Healthcare is part of a health system that also uses the science of “big data” to reduce opioid misuse and transform pain management, with initiatives in surgical, emergency and other care settings including:
- Enhanced Surgical Recovery (ESR): a multi-modal pain management approach using pre-, intra-, and post-operative interventions to optimize outcomes. HCA Healthcare’s ESR programs have demonstrated significant improvements in surgical recovery and patient satisfaction, including decreases in opioid usage.
- Electronic Prescribing of Controlled Substances (EPCS): aims to stem increasing rates of opioid-related addiction, misuse diversion and death by making it more difficult for medication-seekers to doctor-shop and alter prescriptions. Physicians have access to aggregated electronic health records, providing data that will allow them to prescribe opioids judiciously.
This year, all 15 HCA Healthcare U.S. divisions participated in a take back day at 110 collection sites across 17 states.
To learn more about Medical City Healthcare’s efforts to “Crush the Crisis” on opioids and drug misuse and abuse, which includes permanent drug take back boxes at 12 hospitals, visit Drug Take Back.