Doctors and pharmacists would be alerted when patients seek multiple
OxyContin prescriptions under a new proposal spurred by the growing
number of deaths, overdoses and crimes linked with abuse of the
narcotic and similar prescription drugs.
The proposal, which could be implemented by the state Department
of Public Health this fall, was applauded by two local experts on
addiction who say it is too easy to score OxyContin.
"The people who abuse these things often shop around for
physicians, prescribers, and go to different pharmacies and chains,
and the smaller (drug stores)...so their prescription history remains
vague," said Patrick Rice, a psychotherapist and substance abuse
specialist at MetroWest Medical Center in Framingham and Natick.
Waltham Police Lt. Richard Manning said the use of pharmaceutical
drugs has increased in the city in the last five years and is present
in schools and popular with the under-25 crowd.
"We get tons of reports of it," he said.
Manning, who heads the Middlesex Drug Task Force, said the city
has seen a decline in the use of designer drugs such as Ecstacy since
pharmaceutical drugs became popular.
He said he could not comment on ongoing investigations.
The prescription drug proposal, issued last week by a commission
created by the Legislature, could also help state officials detect the
next "Dr. Feel Good" -- a moniker applied to a Cape Cod doctor who
lost his license to practice medicine after issuing nearly one-third
of all OxyContin prescriptions written in Massachusetts in 2004.
"The Board of Registration in Medicine had no idea that he had
such irregular patterns of prescribing and there was really no way for
them to find out," said state Rep. Peter Koutoujian, D-Waltham, the
OxyContin Commission chairman.
The commission wants to upgrade the DPH's Prescription Monitoring
Program so it can find patients who receive prescriptions from
multiple doctors or pharmacies, Koutoujian said. The drugs targeted by
the commission are OxyContin, transdermal fentanyl, methadone,
morphine, Vicodin and Percocet.
The DPH will have to decide whether doctors and pharmacists would
have direct access to the database or whether they would simply be
notified when irregular patterns are found, Koutoujian said.
Better monitoring of drug prescribing patterns would allow the
Board of Registration to take swifter action against doctors who issue
questionable prescriptions, Koutoujian said.
Opioid-related deaths in Massachusetts increased 600 percent
between 1990 and 2003, according to the commission report. In the 10
years ending in 2002, the state saw a 950 percent increase in the
number of people admitted into medical facilities for abusing
OxyContin and other non-heroin opiates. Many OxyContin addicts
eventually switch to heroin because it is much cheaper, Koutoujian
said.
Budget cuts in recent years have reduced drug treatment programs
that help people beat their addictions. Sen. Richard Moore,
D-Uxbridge, said he expects the state to restore some of the lost
treatment funding.
Labels: No Prescription, Online Pharmacy, Prescription Drugs
# posted by Network @ 12:14 PM
