Pubdate: Wed, 16 Jul 2008
Source: Port St. Lucie News (FL)
Copyright: 2008 The E.W. Scripps Company
Contact:  http://www.tcpalm.com/tcp/stuart_news/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/973

TRAGIC FOR PEOPLE TO CONTINUE TO DIE DUE TO PRESCRIPTION DRUG ABUSE

Time to solve situation.

The numbers tell (almost) the whole story:

Three times as many Floridians died in 2007 from the abuse/misuse of
prescription pain medications than from  illegal drugs, according to
figures released recently  by the Florida Medical Examiners
Commission. Moreover,  between 2000 and today, the number of deaths
related to  prescription-drug abuse has more than tripled.

The problem is likely to get worse until Florida  lawmakers take an
important, long-overdue step and  create a statewide prescription-drug
monitoring  database. Here's why:

The absence of a statewide monitoring database has caused
prescription-drug abuse in Florida to explode.  There is a direct
correlation between increasing  numbers of prescription-drug deaths
and the lack of  enforcement.

"There's a significant disconnect between doctors and pharmacies,"
said Dr. Rafael Miguel, a former member of  the state Board of
Medicine and current director of  pain medicine for neurosurgery at
the University of  South Florida in Tampa. "Patients who may be
abusing,  and drug dealers, will target different doctors and
pharmacies. They can do this in Florida without  virtually any chance
of getting caught."

People from outside the state are now coming to Florida, in
increasing numbers, to exploit the system.

Says Miguel: "What we've seen in recent years, with other database programs
being enacted in other states,  are drug abusers and drug dealers coming
into our  state, with impunity, and leaving doctors' offices with
prescriptions for controlled substances."

The solution? The creation of a statewide computer database. Once the
system has been put into place, the  purchase of every potentially
lethal prescription drug  would be logged into the program, thereby
giving  doctors, pharmacists and law enforcement officers a  critical
tool to help them spot abusers. Access to the  online site would be
limited to Florida's licensed  physicians and pharmacists, and local
and state law  enforcement officers empowered by a court order to
investigate abuses.

Previous efforts in the state Legislature to create a database have
failed -- ostensibly because of concerns  for "privacy rights."
However, as Miguel observes: "The  Medicaid program in Florida has
used a secure online  database for several years -- the same kind of
system  we'd like lawmakers to approve. Security has never been  an
issue with the Medicaid program, and it won't be a  cause for concern
with the prescription-drug database,  either."

The Florida Medical Association and a wide array of other medical and
professional organizations will  attempt to persuade the 2009
Legislature to implement  this much-needed tool.

There's another number Floridians should ponder: 7. This is the years
in a row Florida lawmakers have  rejected bills that would have
created a  prescription-drug monitoring database.

If lawmakers truly care, the eighth time will be the
charm.

BY THE NUMBERS

6-7

Average daily deaths in Florida caused by the abuse/misuse of
prescription drugs.

38

States that employ a prescription-drug monitoring database to track
sales. (Florida isn't one of them.)

989

Deaths caused by illegal drugs, such as heroin and
cocaine.

2,328

Deaths caused by prescription pain medications, such as  Methadone,
OxyContin and Vicodin.

700,000

Floridians illegally abusing/misusing prescription
drugs.

Florida Medical Association
- ---
MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin