Addinex Technologies' Success in Decreasing Opioid Refills and Increasing Disposal of Excess Pills After Surgery Validated in Clinical Study

    NEW YORK, NY, August 01, 2022 /24-7PressRelease/ -- The final results of an opioid misuse prevention study by Columbia University Irving Medical Center using the patented digital medication dispensing system developed by Addinex Technologies, Inc. were published in the peer-reviewed journal, Cancer.

Study results of 30 patients undergoing major cancer-related surgery showed high rates of excess medication disposal, low prescription refill rates, a greater feeling of safety, and a strong positive experience by study participants.

Study Results

- 43% of study patients underwent open total abdominal hysterectomy, 33% underwent mastectomy and 23% underwent cutaneous tumor resections
- 567 opioid pills were prescribed (average 18.9) and only 170 (30%) were used
- 84% of excess pills were returned for proper disposal versus no more than 9% in prior studies
- Only 63% of patients used any opioids and only two patients obtained a refill
- Over half of patients felt safer using the Addinex system
- 74% felt that the benefits of the Addinex system justified its use over a typical pill bottle

Study participants prescribed opioids after surgery used Addinex's low-cost password-protected medication dispenser which limits availability to no more than their prescription allows (e.g., one pill every four hours). The associated app monitored pain levels and provided physician-driven advice based on each patient's progress. When pain levels subsided, patients were prompted to dispose of their excess pills and dispenser in a provided DEA-approved disposal mailer.

"Initial opioid exposures often occur post-operatively, and 10% of opioid-naïve patients undergoing surgery for cancer subsequently become long-term opioid users. 70% of opioids prescribed post-operatively go unused, but only 9% of leftover pills are disposed of appropriately, increasing the risk of unintended use," according to Jacob Cogan, M.D., Hematology/Oncology Fellow at Columbia University Irving Medical Center during this study and ASCO Merit Award recipient for his work on this study.
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Dawn Hershman, M.D., M.S., principal study investigator and the Director of Breast Oncology and co-leader of the Cancer Population Science program at the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center at Columbia University stated "Our early findings suggest that utilization of an inexpensive, password-protected, pill-dispensing system, like the one developed by Addinex to assist with opioid dispensing, education and excess pill disposal, is feasible with high rate of success. This solution appears to be an effective strategy to protect patients and reduce opioid diversion."

"Patients retain over three billion excess opioid pills in a year and over half of illicit use comes from friends and relatives. With 80% of heroin users having started on prescription opioids, a solution is needed to reduce the number of opioids pills prescribed, educate patients on their usage in real time, and make it easy to dispose of excess pills'" stated Jay Schiff, Co-Founder and CEO of Addinex Technologies, Inc. "Our medication dispensing system provides a cost-effective, multi-pronged solution for opioids and other misused medications like buprenorphine, methadone, stimulants, and sedatives."

About Addinex Technologies, Inc.

Addinex Technologies is a cutting-edge developer of low-cost medication dispensing systems targeting misused prescription drugs. Addinex's patented low-cost mechanical dispenser regulates usage based on each patient's unique prescription, assists doctors with prescribing based on usage data by similar patients, provides education and real-time progress feedback to patients and their doctors, and incorporates a DEA-approved mailer for easy excess pill disposal. For more information, visit Addinex at www.addinex.com.

Contact:

Jay Schiff, Co-Founder and CEO
Addinex Technologies, Inc.
(917) 628-8026
[email protected]

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