Pharmacy Perspectives - Winter/Spring 2018 - 12

Tackling the Opioid Epidemic:

Professor Rob Valuck sharing a favorite pastime

TACK LING
THE OPIOID
EPIDEMIC

ur talented faculty are working to solve some
of the country's most pressing health issues,
including the widespread opioid epidemic. In
the U.S. last year, more than 63,000 people died
of a drug overdose, with opioids involved in 75
percent of those deaths. The crisis also hits close
to home, with at least 504 deaths in Colorado
caused by opioid overdose.

One of our best and brightest
minds, Robert Valuck, PhD, RPh
is focusing on the opioid epidemic
with his research and efforts on behalf of the Colorado Consortium for
Prescription Drug Abuse. By building
strategic partnerships with the consortium's volunteers at federal, state
and local levels, Dr. Valuck is bringing communities closer to solving the
opioid epidemic. We connected with
Dr. Valuck to hear about this critical
issue and his important work.
Robert Valuck, PhD, RPh
Graduated From: University of
Colorado; University of Illinois at
Chicago
Interests at CU: Center for
Pharmaceutical Outcomes Research,
Pharmacoepidemiology and drug safety
Joined CU: 1994
What significant hurdles do health
care professionals face in addressing
the opioid epidemic?
Right now, we have a 90 percent treatment gap for patients with substance use
disorders. Theoretically, this situation
would be similar to a cancer patient

going to a treatment center and being
told, "sorry, we can only give treatment
to one out of ten people." Even with the
evidence based treatments that are available, we are woefully below capacity to
deal with all of the need that's out there.
Can you share how the Colorado
Consortium for Prescription
Drug Abuse is overcoming obstacles in health care and tackling
the opioid epidemic?
With almost 500 volunteers including experts from state and federal
agencies and task forces, nonprofit
organizations, health care providers to public health officials, we're
helping change lives. We're working
to raise public awareness, improve
education, research, treatment and
safe disposal. One of our initiatives
involves addressing the "medicine
cabinet" problem. Often times,
unused prescribed opioid pills are
left over in the medicine cabinet,
and then are used by friends or
family members for whom they
weren't prescribed. We're trying
to get disposal boxes in every community in Colorado so people can

CU Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences

give back leftover medications and
prevent others from using them
non-medically.
What gives you hope in the face of
this epidemic?
We have an overdose antidote (naloxone) that works. There are effective
treatments that work, and recovery is
possible. Most importantly, lives can
be saved. This outcome is secured by
the treatment providers, policymakers
and others who are aiming to make a
difference. People are engaged-they're
collaborating and talking about the epidemic. They really care. We're working
across all sectors in the state to do good
work and solve this issue.
If you weren't fighting the opioid
epidemic, what do you think you'd
be doing?
I love to fly fish, so I'd try to make it a
living but most likely starve while trying. A couple years ago I did a big fishing trip up in Jackson, Wyoming with
my son. There, we floated the Snake
River, through the Teton Mountains,
catching trout. You don't get anything
prettier than that.

We're helping
change lives. We're
working to raise
public awareness,
improve education,
research, treatment
and safe disposal.
- ROBERT VALUCK

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