Press Releases

Our country faces a serious and complex public health crisis related to opioid addiction and abuse. It’s an epidemic that touches all of us. Cardinal Health is resolved to be a constructive part of the effort to alleviate this complex national public health crisis.

Our commitment to helping alleviate this problem is unwavering, and includes the following:

• Anti-Diversion:  We maintain a sophisticated program to spot, stop and report to regulators those orders of prescription controlled medications that do not meet our strict criteria. Our system includes advanced analytics, technology and on-the-ground deployment of investigators to evaluate all pharmacies and scrutinize all controlled substance orders.
   
• Generation Rx: For over a decade, we’ve funded prevention education programs to ensure school-age kids, patients, pharmacists and prescribers know about the dangers of misuse and abuse of prescription medications, including opioids.  The Cardinal Health Foundation, in partnership with The Ohio State University College of Pharmacy, developed Generation Rx, a national prescription drug education and awareness program for people of all ages – from teens to student pharmacists to community leaders – about the dangers of misusing prescription medications. Learn more at GenerationRx.Org.
   
• Opioid Action Program: Building on the efforts of Generation Rx, in 2017 Cardinal Health launched the Opioid Action Program, a multi-prong effort to help communities in four of the nation’s hardest-hit states across Appalachia – Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee and West Virginia – combat the opioid epidemic. Each element of the program is cited by leading experts, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine (NASEM), and the President’s Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis, as critical to reducing opioid abuse and casualties. Learn more at Cardinalhealth.com/opioidactionprogram.

We’ve prioritized these activities and responses for a simple reason: Our people care deeply about this issue and the devastation it has caused American families and communities. We will continue to work alongside regulators, manufacturers, prescribers, pharmacists, educators, patients and others to fight opioid abuse and addiction.