Fred Meyer and Washington State collaborate to provide free locking bags to prevent opioid misuse

OLYMPIA — Customers at Fred Meyer’s 60 pharmacies in Washington now have access to free locking bags to more safely store their opioid prescriptions. The Washington State Health Care Authority (HCA) is collaborating with the retailer to provide the bags as part of an ongoing effort to help prevent opioid misuse and overdose deaths in Washington’s communities.

Fred Meyer is the first major pharmacy chain to participate in HCA’s Lock Up Your Meds safe storage program. The safe storage program supplies participating Washington pharmacies with free medication locking devices to distribute to patients with opioid prescriptions. Among the only of its kind in the nation, the program is part of the statewide Starts with One campaign to prevent opioid overdoses by increasing the safe use, storage, and disposal of opioid prescriptions.

"As part of our commitment to helping people live healthier lives, we’re proud to participate in this program and provide free locking bags to patients with opioid prescriptions—empowering safer communities through compassionate care and responsible pharmacy practice," said Kayla Hensley, division health leader at Fred Meyer.

In Washington, approximately 82% of overdose deaths involve opioids (2023 overdose data). Nearly half of people misusing pain relievers, including prescription opioids, get them from a friend or family member. Simple steps like locking up prescriptions can help prevent both accidental and intentional misuse and potential overdose. Yet, according to a study conducted by HCA, only 44% of Washingtonians surveyed lock up their prescription medication.

Providing people with a way to lock up their medications is just the first step toward changing this behavior. When a customer is given a locking bag through the Lock Up Your Meds program, the pharmacist asks them to make a pledge to lock up their opioid prescriptions. This aspect of the program is based on the research-backed idea that when someone makes a personal commitment—or a pledge—to take a specific action, they are significantly more likely to follow through.

Fred Meyer has distributed a total of 713 bags, held 1,000 conversations about the importance of medication safe storage, and secured 485 pledges since it was introduced to its stores in May.

“Pharmacies play a crucial role in keeping our communities safe and informed,” said Charissa Fotinos, M.D., Washington State Medicaid and Behavioral Health Medical Director at HCA. “We are grateful for this new relationship with Fred Meyer and for their commitment to educating residents about preventing opioid misuse and for promoting responsible medication use at their stores across Washington.”

Approximately 10-17 independent pharmacies have participated each year in the four-month annual program since it started in 2020. Since its inception, there have been a total of 1,827 locking devices distributed, 3,435 patient conversations about opioid safe storage, and 1,914 pledges to lock up medications.

“This exciting relationship with Fred Meyer allows us to meaningfully expand this important evidence-based program, creating new opportunities to reach communities in all corners of Washington with life-saving opioid misuse prevention tools that are critical to reducing overdose deaths in our state,” Fotinos said.

According to evaluation data, the program is successfully driving behavior change. In 2023, 95% of participating patients said that the information and resources provided through the Lock Up Your Meds program had a direct impact on how they store their medication at home.

The program is funded in part by ​State Opioid Response (SOR) funds, which are federal grants administered by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration to help states combat the opioid crisis.