narcotic prescriptions, with the exception of Missouri. Senator Rob Schaaf of St. Joseph, Missouri,
is a first time senator and family practitioner. Schaaf is adamant that Missouri will not
adopt a prescription database, as he believes – along with other critics – that
the database represents an infringement on personal liberty. Protecting a patient’s confidentiality should
be a priority, Schaaf has said, adding that citizens “shouldn’t have to give up
their right to privacy just to stop people from doing bad things.”
The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) officially launched their secure online prescription monitoring program, called Prescription Access in Texas (PAT), in July 2012. This database is available to a select group of practitioners, pharmacists, and law enforcement officials. Very recently, DPS has extended program access to additional physicians and law enforcement, mid-level practitioners, medical board and nursing board investigators.
Advocates of the program contend the database allows doctors and pharmacists to better monitor patients who frequently seek prescription medications; the program is aimed at stopping “doctor shopping,” by which people get prescriptions from multiple physicians to feed an addiction or to sell. The number of deaths as a result of prescription drug use and abuse are greater than heroin and cocaine overdose deaths combined. The most recent year with statistics available – 2009 – shows that nearly 21,000 deaths in the U.S. were attributed to prescription drug overdoses.
The Centers for Disease Controll says overdose dealths from prescription painkillers such as hydrocodone, methadone, and oxycodone have skyrocketed in the last 10 years. Some estimate that deaths from prescription drug overdoses exceed those from car accidents. In Dallas County, 14.5 percent of high school students have admitted using an illegally obtained prescription drig in the last 30 days.
It appears that online tracking of controlled drugs will,
at the very least, decrease access. Florida
was once known as the “pill mill capital.”
A few years ago, more than 90 of the nation’s top 100
prescription-dispensing physicians were in Florida. In 2009, the state instituted a tracking
program and today, the number is down to 13 physicians in the top 100. People who fail to disclose that they are
receiving pain medication, controlled substances, or narcotics from other
doctors could face legal consequences.
Pharmacists have been required to send prescription
information to the Texas Department of Public Safety since 1982, now called the
Texas Prescription Program. It was once an effective and efficient tool
for investigation and preventing drug diversion. The new online PAT system does not require
every prescription written to be entered in the database; pharmacists are
required to report each prescription they fill for narcotics. PAT will hold physician, patient, and
controlled substance information for one year, allowing law enforcement and
health care professionals’ immediate access to dispensing data.
Texas has taken measures to ensure the data is secure on PAT, and that it can only be accessed by licensed practitioners and pharmacists; however the American Civil Liberties Union has reservations about the program. The ACLU refers to the program as “government surveillance.” Is this another example of Big Brother tracking our every move? Does this program violate personal liberties?
Let’s not over-think this… I think PAT allows providers access to data
that will help them make appropriate decisions for their patients.
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