Proove Biosciences Is Encouraged by White House Summit and New CDC Guideline for Addressing Prescription Drug Epidemic
(PRWEB) March 23, 2016 -- Proove Biosciences, Inc., the commercial and research leader in personalized pain medicine, applauds the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) intentions to curtail prescription drug abuse. The CDC recently published its new guideline for prescribing opioids to patients suffering from chronic pain. The guideline is aimed at influencing prescribing behavior among primary care physicians. According to the CDC, 165,000 patient deaths resulted from opioid-related overdoses from 1999 to 2014. In 2012, doctors wrote 259 million prescriptions for opioid drugs—a staggering and seemingly indiscriminant number for a diverse population.
“We are hopeful that the new guideline plays a role in facilitating more targeted prescribing,” said Brian Meshkin, CEO at Proove Biosciences. Currently, technology exists to evaluate patient risk and likely response to prescription opioids. At Proove Biosciences, for example, a proprietary technology platform is used to evaluate genetic factors to predict patient response and assess for risk of substance abuse prior to treatment. By understanding how patients might respond in advance, Proove Biosciences is able to help physicians prescribe medication that is likely to deliver the best therapeutic value—all while identifying which patients are at an increased risk of addiction. “We know that genetics plays a critical role in patient response to opioid drugs. By stratifying patient risk, we are able to ensure that patients at low risk can get the opioid medications they need while patients at high risk can avoid medications that put them in unnecessary danger,” continued Meshkin.
At the White House Summit on Prescription Medicine, President Obama explained how opioid drugs for pain management often provides a pathway to dangerous illegal drugs. “The pills run out, and then, sadly, it turns out that heroine is a cheaper way to refill your prescription, and people are getting hooked.” The President further underscored the significance of addressing the epidemic by placing a greater focus on the treatment. “It does speak to is the fact that the more we know about how to treat a particular problem, the more effectively we treat that problem, over time, the more efficient and cost effective the healthcare system will be,” continued Obama.
In December 2015, the President signed a $200 million bill to support the Prescription Drug Initiative—a revolutionary approach that is focused on precision medicine. “We are excited that the federal government is taking steps in the right direction to facilitate customized treatment,” said Meshkin. An evidence-based and individualized approach to prescribing ensures opioids are available to provide pain relief to patients in need—and protect patients at higher risk for misuse. The technology at Proove Biosciences is at the forefront of precision medicine in the nation’s most prevalent and expensive health condition—pain. “With our proprietary algorithms, we are able to play a significant role in reducing addiction, lowering healthcare costs, and saving lives in the field of pain management.”
About Proove Biosciences
Our mission is to change the future of medicine. Proove represents the proof to improve healthcare decisions. We seek to realize a future when clinicians look back and wonder how they could have ever prescribed medications without knowing how a patient would respond. Physicians use Proove Biosciences testing to improve outcomes—both safety and efficacy of medical treatment. From a simple cheek swab collected in the office, Proove performs proprietary genetic tests in its CLIA-certified laboratory to identify patients at risk for misuse of prescription pain medications and evaluate their metabolism of medications. For more information, please visit http://www.proove.com or call toll free 855-PROOVE-BIO (855-776-6832).
Public Relations, Proove Biosciences, http://www.proove.com, +1 949-556-7239, [email protected]
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