Pubdate: Sat, 11 Jun 2016 Source: Orange County Register, The (CA) Copyright: 2016 The Orange County Register Contact: http://www.ocregister.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/321 Author: Greg Mech Note: Greg Mech is a resident of Orange County. He serves on the Board of Advisors for Shatterproof, a national non-profit organization focused on ending addiction, and as managing director at the CAPROCK Group. PRESCRIPTION TO FIGHT ADDICTION The opioid epidemic facing our state is one of the worst health care crises California has ever seen. Currently, California hospitals treat roughly one overdose every 45 minutes due to heroin or prescription painkillers such as OxyContin, Vicodin and Percocet. In 2014, California had the largest number of overdose deaths of any state in the country: 4,521 of our sons, daughters, and loved ones lost. This past weekend, the Orange County Register highlighted my personal story. I lost my son James to an accidental overdose in 2014 just two days before his 27th birthday after a long struggle with both depression and addiction. We need to talk about what can be done to change these stories and statistics. Thousands of families in California and across the country, like mine, are being shattered by addiction. Thousands more will face the same pain if we don't change the system now. Today, California has the opportunity to reverse this epidemic. Among the most effective options is using technology to track a patient's prescription history (also known as Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs or PDMPs). Earlier this year, California rolled out its new PDMP. By fully utilizing technology that the state has already invested in, doctors can review a patient's history to ensure they are not prescribing a drug that could be lethal in combination with another medication the patient is currently taking. They can also make sure someone isn't "doctor shopping" and receiving an unsafe number of prescriptions from multiple doctors. In California, prescribers are not required to use the technology, rendering it almost useless like offering a seatbelt in a car but not mandating drivers and passengers use it. To solve this, California State Senator Ricardo Lara, D-Los Angeles, introduced Senate Bill 482 last year. SB482 would require physicians to check the state's PDMP prior to prescribing an opioid and annually thereafter to monitor for harmful drug combinations. Similar requirements enacted in New York, Tennessee and Kentucky led to dramatic improvements in prescribing patterns in those states. In recent months Connecticut, Wisconsin Massachusetts, Ohio and Maryland passed requirements for doctors to check their state database before prescribing opioids. Shatterproof, a national nonprofit organization focused on ending addiction, recently released a comprehensive report calling on state legislatures to require doctors to use PDMPs, including 12 best practices for states to use when drafting laws. This solution works. Since losing James, I realized I could not watch idly as other families were destroyed by this epidemic. I became actively involved with Shatterproof to bring this discussion out of the shadows to help the millions of people who are affected by addiction. Shatterproof has been a strong advocate for this bill, and will continue to work to address prescription drug abuse in California and nationally in years to come. After this bill passes, we will have hit a tremendous milestone that will serve as the entry point for making opioid abuse a thing of the past. We will continue to work hard to make the use of the PDMP as effective a tool as possible in the fight against opioid abuse. Doctors need to have the most complete picture of a patient's prescription history so they can safely prescribe opioids and other medications, and Shatterproof will continue to be the voice of parents and families who have been touched by addiction as long as there is work left to be done. I urge the Business and Professions Committee and the Assembly to pass the strongest and most effective bill possible. California has a state-of-the-art PDMP and has the opportunity to once again set the standard for the country for effective use of the system. Please take every measure available to save lives and protect families. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom