Walmart is taking a step to try to help stop the abuse and misuse of opioids.
Walmart and Sam's Club pharmacies in the United States, including Puerto Rico, will now limit how many pills are dispensed, Fortune reported.
Over the next two months, the stores will limit the first acute opioid prescriptions to a seven-day supply and a per-day maximum of a 50 milligrams of morphine equivalent, company officials said in a news release.
By Jan. 1, 2020, the stores will require e-prescriptions for controlled substances instead of a traditional paper copy because, Walmart officials said, "they cannot be altered or copied and are electronically trackable."
Pharmacists will also use the controlled substance tracking program, NarxCare, by the end of August and will have a supply of naloxone at all pharmacy counters for by-request dispensing where allowed by state law.
The changes are part of the "Walmart Opioid Stewardship Initiative" and were developed to help combat the nation's opioid epidemic.
For more on the initiative, click here.
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