Massachusetts Acquires New Tracking System to Combat Prescription Drug Abuse
Last week, health officials from Massachusetts’ Public Health Council unanimously approved the implementation of a new state detection system that will help physicians prevent prescription drug addicts from doctor shopping.
Massachusetts has experienced a rising increase in overdose deaths caused by prescription drug abuse in recent years. Approximately 9,000 state residents are abusing prescription drugs by engaging in doctor shopping, according to the state Bureau of Health Care and Safety. Prescription drug addicts may feign injuries to get multiple prescriptions for strong painkillers from one or more doctors. Then, doctor-shopping addicts will fill the prescriptions at different pharmacies, and will either abuse them or sell them on the streets. Although legal drugs—including antidepressants, anti-anxiety medications, and pain relievers—all have the potential to help treat serious mental and physical illnesses, the surge in prescription drug abuse has now reached epidemic levels throughout the U.S., causing the need for a prescription drug crackdown.
In Massachusetts, prescription drug abuse has now become just as widespread as illicit drug abuse. Massachusetts has been operating its current prescription drug monitoring program (PMP) since 1992. However, this PMP’s database only registers information on one category of prescription drugs that includes OxyContin, Percocet, and morphine, and has limited access for health professionals. When a potential drug-abusing patient raises a red flag in the system, health professionals and law enforcement are alerted through official reports and necessary action is instated. So far, 45 patients in Massachusetts have received such reports within the PMP. With the integration of this latest detection system, physicians and pharmacists will be able to instantly track patients’ prescription drug use history in an online database that includes powerful prescription pain relievers like Darvon, Vicodin, and even steroids. It is estimated that over 9 million prescriptions per year will be entered into the new system.
As opposed to the existing PMP that is updated monthly, the new database will be updated weekly. Pharmacists will be required to inform state officials of an array of medications they fill for patients’ prescriptions, with the exception of medications for chronic health conditions. Also, individuals filling a prescription for the first time will be required to show identification, but the same will not be required for refills just yet. The state’s authorities will conduct random screenings throughout the system to ensure that no information is mishandled by its users and is registered accordingly. If users are considered to have performed misconduct with the database’s information, they could be charged with severe fines or penalties.
Funding for the new system will cost approximately $1 million to start; Massachusetts will contribute $400,000 per year to keep the system operating. Funding for the widely successful prescription screening system is rather affordable in comparison to the damage that prescription drug abuse costs the economy. The state’s low-income health insurance program could be afforded up to $2 million each year with the new system in place, according to health officials.
According to a recent report from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), treatment admissions for prescription drug abuse have increased fourfold nationwide within the past decade. SAMHSA also reports that emergency department visits related to the non-medical use of prescription pain relievers increased by 111% between 2004 and 2008. Some Massachusetts hospitals have reported receiving just as many emergency department visits related to prescription drug misuse as emergencies caused by disasters. Not only to PMPs help doctors ensure that legal medications are being used effectively and safely, but it keeps these potent drugs from falling into the wrong hands and causing more unwanted injuries.
Source: The Boston Globe, Stephen Smith, State OK’s tool to detect prescription drug abuse, August 12, 2010
