Massachusetts Monitoring System Expected to Reduce Doctor Shopping

Could prescription drug abuse be reduced if states had more effective tools to detect and monitor activities? Such a process could certainly upset the habits of those individuals who choose to doctor shop in order to obtain large quantities of prescription medications.

The state of Massachusetts will soon determine just how effect such a program can be as a new detection system has been approved. According to a recent Boston Globe report, a physician anywhere in the state will soon be able to easily identify those patients who engage in doctor shopping activities.

Regulators with the Public Health Council have approved a new detection system that could help to address a problem affecting at least 9,000 Massachusetts residents suspected of doctor shopping every year. The online database will show previous prescriptions filled by patients for powerful painkillers.

Physicians will also be able to use the database to better determine which patients truly need help and which ones are simply craving another hit. A successful system will ensure those truly in pain can receive the help they need.

This focus is an important one in Massachusetts as the state experienced a dramatic increase in the number of substance abuse deaths in the past 10 years. While some of the more than 600 deaths can be attributed to those injecting heroin and other street narcotics, the rise has also been driven by prescription medications.
A previous prescription monitoring program was put in place in the state in 1992, but covered only one category of drugs, including OxyCotin, Percocet and morphine. This system does not provide direct access for health providers.

With the expanded system, physicians are expected to have access and pharmacists have to alert state officials when they fill a prescription for a broad range of medications. The changes are expected to make an impact on the state. The success or failure of the system can provide keen insight for other states considering such a program.
Violators could face substantial fines and other penalties, Bonner said.
The state is spending about $1 million to strengthen prescription monitoring and will commit $400,000 annually to maintain the initiative. Health authorities said they expect the state’s health insurance program for the poor will save $2 million a year by spotting abusers.
“You look at these people, and you see their faces and you hear their stories, and it’s very compelling,’’ Bonner said. “And the million dollars it has cost to get this program up and running is a drop in the bucket compared to the devastation that has been caused.’’