Preventing Prescription Drug Misuse: How Smartcards Can Help Contain the Opioid Epidemic in the US

According to data compiled from hundreds of health agencies in the US, drug overdoses took the lives of more than 59,000 Americans in 2016 alone – the leading cause of death in Americans under the age of 50.  A report prepared by the President’s Commission on Opioid Addition stated that, “The opioid epidemic we (the United States) are facing is unparalleled. The average American would likely be shocked to know that drug overdoses now kill more people than gun homicides and car crashes combined.”  Sadly, this staggering number doesn’t account for the family members, loved ones and friends of the deceased, whose lives have been changed forever by this crisis.  The death toll far exceeds any public health crisis the nation has confronted in the past 75 years, and has caused President Trump to declare this epidemic a national health emergency.

Government at the Federal, state and local levels have taken a number of important steps over the past several years to educate the public, treat the addiction and arrest those illegally prescribing opioids.  Yet, as the President remarked, there is more to be done to understand the cause and scale of the problem.  The Chairman of the President’s Commission, Governor Christie remarked that addiction can often be traced back to the doctor’s office or a hospital.  Knowing that this is often the point where opioid abuse begins, better tools to track and understand patient’s encounters with opioids are critical to ultimately winning this battle.

A smart health benefit card is a low cost solution that can provide enormous benefits by giving doctors, pharmacists, and health care provider’s real time information to prevent fraudulent attempts to obtain opioids or unnecessarily over-prescribe medication.  Utilizing a chip that contains a secure microcomputer embedded in the card, much like the cards used by our soldiers, sailors and Marines to safely access military bases and services, this smart card could flag fraudulent or suspicious use, providing a potentially life-saving alert in real time to a doctor or pharmacist who often lack access to the patient’s most current medical records.

The card can be configured to store data that could automatically recognize incompatible prescriptions, overdose or medical histories and display a warning to physicians or pharmacists.   Any required personal identification information would protected by encrypting it in the chip’s microcomputer. The embedded chip also ensures that the card cannot be tampered with or forged, confirms that the device used to read it is legitimate, and that the person claiming the corresponding benefits is the one to whom the card was issued.

Furthermore, combining the smart card with PIN technology, like a bank ATM card, would provide complete confidence in the legitimacy of the transaction and any lost or stolen cards could be remotely deactivated in real time.  Only approved health care providers and suppliers with authorized card readers, like those used for financial services, would be able to access patient information.

The technology is proven and readily available, having been developed for and used by the Department of Defense (Common Access Card) and the Department of Homeland Security (TWIC Card) to secure access to military installations and the nation’s ports for the past ten years.

The ferocity with which this scourge has infected communities across the U.S. calls for new initiatives to fight back and save our loved ones before they become victims.  NXP Semiconductors believes a smart benefit card is one solution that can make a significant impact on stopping the spread of this epidemic.

Related Articles:

Josh Katz, “Drug Deaths in America are Rising Faster than Ever”, June 5, 2017, New York Times, available at: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/06/05/upshot/opioid-epidemic-drug-overdose-deaths-are-rising-faster-than-ever.html?_r=0

President’s Commission on Combatting Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis, Interim Report, available at:

Eli Watkins, “Christie Confident Trump will accept opioid panel’s recommendations”, August 6, 2017, CNN.com, available at: http://www.cnn.com/2017/08/06/politics/chris-christie-donald-trump-opioid-commission/index.html