Pharmacy chain behemoth CVS Health will increase restrictions on opioid drug prescriptions, the company announced Thursday. The move is an effort to combat the national opioid epidemic that many regard as a public health emergency.

CVS Caremark, the company's pharmacy benefits manager, will limit the supply of opioids dispensed to seven days while also capping the daily dosage of opioids dispensed, according to the statement. CVS pharmacists will also counsel patients receiving an opioid prescription for the first time on safe use, the company said.

The chain will also bump up its efforts in local communities by adding new opioid disposal units in 750 stores and expanding its student education initiative Pharmacists Teach to parents, according to the statement.

"Without a doubt, addressing our nation's opioid crisis calls for a multi pronged effort involving many healthcare stakeholders, from doctors, dentists and pharmaceutical companies to pharmacies and government officials," Larry Merlo, president and CEO of CVS Health, said in the statement.

The company's new seven-day supply limit on opioid prescriptions is a considerable restriction for doctors and patients. The average pill supply jumped from 13 days in 2006 to 18 days in 2015, according to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Merlo told USA TODAY the company is often asked to fill opioid prescriptions of up to 60 powerful pills in one supply, and he believes limiting the supply could make an impact in the opioid crisis.

CVS Pharmacists will be instructed to contact doctors when they receive opioid prescriptions that may be inappropriate for a patient's treatment, according to USA TODAY.

The move was foreshadowed by a July op-ed written by Merlo and published in Morning Consult in which he argues for pharmacy-enforced limits on opioid pill supply, particularly in cases where short-term medication is appropriate.

CVS has nearly 9,700 pharmacies and more than 1,100 walk-in clinics throughout the U.S. The new restrictions will go into place on February 1, 2018.