Opioid prescriptions double for veterinarians

By: News Staff

Twitter: @ABC6

Email: news@abc6.com

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – As the state endorses a large drop in opioid prescriptions, the number actually doubled for veterinarians in 2018.

The RI Department of Health (DOH) has a mandatory reporting systems for any doctor prescribing an opioid.

1,170 prescriptions in 2017 jumped to 2,172 last year, despite the state touting a decline in prescriptions overall.

However, the numbers can be a bit misleading.

DOH says compliance rates among veterinarians to report are just starting to catch up and some drugs have been reclassified as an opioid.

But the question arises, “why does a pet need such a powerful drug?”

“That sounds a little weird to me,” dog owner Chris Till said.

Till’s dog named Gracie, had a small case of kennel cough as a puppy.

She’s fine now but needed medicine to recover.

Opioid prescriptions are used to help dogs recover from kennel cough

“I don’t know why they would be doing that,” Till said.

Dr. Scott Marshall is the state’s veterinarian and says animals have a need for these medications.

“Our animals and people are quite similar,” Marshall said. “Primarily pain control is short term and it’s usually for post-operative pain, other times we use them as cough suppressants similar to when people take them.”

Joseph Wendelken with the RI DOH says it doesn’t mean things are out of control.

“It took us a little white to get the compliance rate up to where we are right now,” Wendelken said.

Wendelken also added that the RI veterinarian’s are finally complying with the rules.

“[There is an] increase in record prescriptions but again that doesn’t necessarily mean there are more prescriptions being written,” he said. “It’s just what we have logged.”

For Till he finds it hard to understand why an animal would need an opioid in the first place.

“Given the epidemic our country is in right now that seems a little irresponsible to me,” Till said.

DOH says they don’t have any proof that people are taking advantage of veterinarians to get their hand on opioids, but they say it doesn’t mean it can’t happen.

(C)WLNE-TV 2019