In collaboration with CDC Vital Signs, COCA wants to notify you of an upcoming conference call. Join the following conference call, where CDC experts will discuss topics of interest to healthcare providers. Feel free to share this information with your colleagues, partners, and peers.
Overdoses of Opioid Pain Relievers in the United States
Title: Overdoses of Opioid Pain Relievers in the United States
Date: Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Time: 1:30 PM – 2:15 PM (Eastern Time)
Sponsor: CDC Vital Signs

Call Number: 888-390-1249
Passcode: 7392540
Overdoses involving opioid pain relievers—a class of drugs that includes hydrocodone, methadone, oxycodone, and oxymorphone—are a public health epidemic. Every year, nearly 15,000 people die from overdoses involving these drugs—more than those who die from heroin and cocaine combined. In 2010, one in 20 people in the United States, ages 12 and older, reported using opioid pain relievers for nonmedical reasons (without a prescription or just for the "high" they cause) in the past year.

During this call, CDC will provide an overview of the latest Vital Signs report—which discusses this growing epidemic and suggested measures for prevention—with a focus on the key role that health care providers can play.
Speakers
Thomas R. Frieden, MD, MPH
Director
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Christopher M. Jones, Pharm.D., MPH
Health Scientist
National Center for Injury Prevention and Control

Additional Resources
• MMWR: Vital Signs: Overdoses of Prescription Opioid Pain Relievers – United States, 1999-2008
• Fact Sheet: Vital Signs: Prescription Painkiller Overdoses in the US
• Web Page: www.cdc.gov/vitalsigns