Authors: Schnoll SH, Fant RV, Ertischek M, Buchman A, Henningfield JE.

Meeting: College on Problems of Drug Dependence

Date: June 14-19, 2008

Surveillance to identify signals of misuse, abuse or diversion is a common component of a risk minimization action plan (RiskMAP) for drugs with abuse potential, and federal surveys offer a low cost, readily available source of information.  These surveys include the Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN) Emergency Department and Medical Examiner reports, the new DAWN Live! system, the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), Monitoring the Future (MTF), the Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS), and the National Forensic Laboratory Information System (NFLIS).  Over several years each of these national data sets can provide useful trend data on prescription drug abuse in general, though changes in survey methodology and other factors must be considered in data interpretation.  Furthermore, most systems lack adequate timeliness, precise enough geographic specificity, and sufficient drug or brand specificity to provide guidance for on going risk management interventions.  The systems are inconsistent in their categorization of drugs and classes. Some systems are more sensitive to specific classes of drugs.  This presentation will describe each system, summarize the pros and cons of each with respect to the quality of information obtained for purposes of risk management, and provide potential suggestions for improvement of the surveys.