Center on Aging Collaborates for Annual Prescription Drug Use and Disposal Conference
Contact: Len Kaye, (207) 262-7920; George Manlove, (207) 581-3756
ORONO — The UMaine Center on Aging, in partnership with the Maine Benzodiazepine Study Group (MBSG) and the MBSG’s Drug Disposal Group, is planning a combined fifth annual MBSG fall conference and fourth annual Unused Drug Return Conference on Oct. 31-Nov. 1 at Portland’s Holiday Inn by the Bay.
Titled “Improving Patient Safety through Informed Medication Prescribing and Disposal Practices,” this year’s international conference draws together healthcare clinicians, substance abuse professionals, researchers, policymakers, drug enforcement officials, environmentalists and others concerned about the human and environmental impact of benzodiazepines and other prescription drugs.
UMaine’s Center on Aging and the MBSG, with endorsement and assistance from the Maine legislature and U.S. Environmental Protection Administration, are in the process of launching the nation’s first, coordinated pharmaceuticals return program this fall, a pilot mail-back program that already has other states inquiring about it.
The fall conference focuses on the environmental and social impacts of safe drug return practices, and the many issues surrounding the use, misuse and abuse of prescription drugs, with a special focus on benzodiazepines, a class of medications used to treat anxiety, stress and insomnia.
The conference also will provide the first opportunity for a North American audience to review the Athens Declaration, an international declaration addressing unused consumer medications for the betterment of the health of the environment and patients worldwide, according to Lenard Kaye, director of the Center on Aging, which serves as the administrative center for the MBSG.
Nationally and internationally recognized experts will analyze a wide range of issues surrounding prescribing trends, and prescription drug misuse and abuse. Experts scheduled to speak include representatives from the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Trish Riley, director of the Governor’s Office of Health Policy and Finance, Dora Mills, director of the Maine Bureau of Health, David Littell, commissioner of the Maine Department of Environmental Protection and Stevan Gressitt, founder of the MBSG.
They’ll showcase cutting-edge approaches to disposing of unused and expired medications and discuss the most current policy and legislative strategies for reducing prescription drug accumulation in the community.
For registration information, contact Jason Charland, conference coordinator, at 207-262-7928 or email: jason.charland@umit.maine.edu. The conference agenda is available at the Center on Aging website (http://www.benzos.une.edu/2007conference.htm).
The event is sponsored with cooperation from Cary Medical Center, and with support from the American Pharmacists Association, the Bingham Group and the Maine Health Access Foundation (MeHAF).