Walmart pharmacies will soon limit the supply of first-time opioid prescriptions for acute pain to seven days, an effort aimed at clamping down on an epidemic killing more people per year than car crashes.
The initiative will start within 60 days, the company announced Monday, and comes as an increasing number of states and entities in the health-care industry have placed limits on opioid prescriptions.
“We are taking action in the fight against the nation’s opioid epidemic,” Marybeth Hays, Walmart’s executive vice president of health and wellness and consumables, said in a statement. The policies also apply to Sam’s Club, which is owned by Walmart. “We are proud to implement these policies and initiatives as we work to create solutions that address this critical issue facing the patients and communities we serve.”
Additionally, the pharmacies will restrict the dosage to a maximum of 50 morphine milligram equivalents per day and, by Jan. 1, 2020, require e-prescriptions for controlled substances. – READ MORE
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