McKesson Corp. on March 29 committed $100 million to form a nonprofit foundation dedicated to addressing the nation's ongoing opioid epidemic.
The foundation will focus on improving patient and provider education on opioid safety and expanding access to opioid overdose reversal drugs. In addition to launching the foundation, McKesson also pledged to work with multiple stakeholders on other opioid safety initiatives, including the use of limited-dose packaging for opioids, improving access to nonopioid pain medication and training pharmacists to use opioid overdose reversal medications.
"At McKesson, we are deeply concerned by the impact the opioid epidemic is having on families and communities across our nation. That's why we are taking new steps to help combat the epidemic," said John Hammergren, chairman and CEO of McKesson. "These new initiatives will provide additional tools to fight abuse, combat overprescribing, and increase doctor and patient education. We believe our investment and continued actions can have a positive impact, particularly when done in partnership with others in the healthcare industry, as well as with government policymakers, administrators and regulators."
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