Ohio Joins States that Limit Opioid Prescriptions

Ohio recently joined the ranks of states that have placed limits on prescriptions for addictive pain medications. Adult patients prescribed opioids for the first time in Ohio will receive no more than a seven-day supply.

The state follows Delaware, which also passed a one-week supply limit a month earlier. A half-dozen other states, primarily in the northeast, have enacted similar laws in the last 18 months.

Governors and lawmakers in nearly every state have taken some action to curb the climbing death toll from prescription painkiller overdoses, an issue of importance in workplaces where employees are at an elevated risk for injury.

In addition to the handful of states that now limit the number of pills that can be prescribed, about 30 states have beefed up monitoring of filled prescriptions to prevent addicts from “doctor shopping” for more pills.

Several more states expanded services to treat addictions.

The laws limiting prescriptions make exceptions for patients with cancer, for example, or on hospice care.

Sources: The Plain Dealer and NBC