Recently, StreetRx started posing questions to users, an experiment to study the link between health behavior and prices, said Dasgupta, the Epidemico cofounder. That’s a challenge it’s also a necessity,” he said. The people reporting on StreetRx are probably a small subset of those buying drugs on the black market, he said, and there’s no way to know how representative they are. Why do people post drug prices on StreetRx? “Who knows?” said the site’s project manager, Chris Menone. Now, it is slowly expanding into seven other countries. It took more than a year for the site to attract significant numbers. Subscribers are barred by contract from access to the raw data or any role in the website’s design or related research. The companies pay a yearly subscription fee to track illegal use of their drugs, as a way to meet federal regulations requiring drug makers to ensure that their products’ benefits outweigh the risks. It is part of the RADARS System, which is funded by pharmaceutical companies.
He was familiar with Epidemico’s work at the forefront of a growing trend to mine online sources for public health purposes.Įpidemico launched StreetRx in 2010. Dart heads the RADARS System (Researched Abuse, Diversion, and Addiction-related Surveillance), which tracks drug abuse, misuse, and diversion for pharmaceutical companies.ĭart wanted data that were up-to-date and included more drugs, to supplement what RADARS was learning from surveys of law enforcement officials. StreetRx started with conversations between Dart and the three cofounders of Epidemico, Nabarun Dasgupta, Clark Freifeld, and Brownstein. But an Epidemico study found that, overall, the prices jibe with what is seen in law enforcement surveys and on websites that sell illegal drugs. The website also cannot verify the accuracy of any individual post.
To use StreetRx, people fill out an online form with the name of the drug, the formulation (such as pill or tablet), price per unit, dose, date, and location of the sale, and source of the price information - whether personal experience or word of mouth.Īnyone can click on others’ purchases to rate the price as “cheap,” “not bad,” “reasonable,” “pricey,” or “overpriced.” People who use the site do not identify themselves, and StreetRx says it has no way of tracing them. Heroin sales are sometimes reported on StreetRx, but quantities and potency can be inexact, making price comparisons difficult. The website is primarily focused on prescription drugs because they come in precise dosages whose prices can be easily compared. On Friday, StreetRx presented data to pharmaceutical companies and federal regulators that compared three types of drug formulations intended to deter abuse, showing which is most effective. Dart, director of the Rocky Mountain Poison and Drug Center in Denver, who helped found StreetRx. People definitely don’t like them as well,” said Dr. “It really shows the value of these abuse-deterrent formulations. Caleb Alexander, codirector of the Johns Hopkins Center for Drug Safety and Effectiveness, who is not involved with StreetRx but has used its data in his research.įor example, when the maker of Ox圜ontin changed the formulation so it would be harder to crush for snorting or injection, StreetRx showed that the price of the new Ox圜ontin dropped. This medicine is available only under a restricted distribution program called the Opioid Analgesic REMS (Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy) program.“It’s an innovative approach to try to harness the information age to advance public health,” said Dr. However, severe withdrawal side effects can usually be prevented by gradually reducing the dose over a period of time before treatment is stopped completely. Physical dependence may lead to withdrawal side effects if treatment is stopped suddenly. Mental dependence (addiction) is not likely to occur when narcotics are used for this purpose. However, people who have continuing pain should not let the fear of dependence keep them from using narcotics to relieve their pain.
When oxycodone is used for a long time, it may become habit-forming, causing mental or physical dependence. This medicine should not be used to treat pain that you only have once in a while or "as needed". Do not use this medicine to relieve mild pain, or in situations when non-narcotic medication is effective. Oxycodone extended-release capsules or tablets should not be used if you need pain medicine for just a short time, such as when recovering from surgery.
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