Aug 21, 2007 - 05:27:31 CDT
State officials are setting up a database to keep better track of prescription drugs.A $372,000 federal grant puts the state Pharmacy Board in charge of the database to monitor prescription records for narcotics.
"It does mean there will be a better way to make sure somebody isn't using a forged prescription to buy drugs and then sell them," said state Sen. Judy Lee, R-Grand Forks.
It also will allow for better management of prescriptions, so doctors and pharmacists can make sure they are up to date about patients' medications, she said. The plan was drafted carefully to make sure patients' privacy is protected, she said.
An Associated Press analysis of statistics from the Drug Enforcement Administration found a 90 percent increase in the amount of five major painkillers sold at retail establishments between 1997 and 2005. In the most recent year represented in the data, more than 200,000 pounds of codeine, morphine, oxycodone, hydrocodone and meperidine were purchased.
The analysis showed the amount of hydrocodone sold in North Dakota at retail establishments rose 422 percent during the period compared to 189 percent nationwide.The Drug Abuse Warning Network has said hydrocodone products are linked to more emergency room visits than any other prescription painkiller.
Sales of oxycodone and morphine also rose in North Dakota from 1997 to 2005, while sales of merephene and codeine dropped, the AP analysis found.
The current state monitoring system can take several weeks, said Dr. Harvey Hanel, the pharmacy director for the state Workforce Safety and Insurance Department and a past state Pharmacy Board member. If the pharmacy board gets a request for information, it sends letters to pharmacies in the area of the request, he said.
"Then they wait for those letters to come back," he said. "If there has been activity in a specific name, the pharmacies send it back to the board and the board compiles that information, and then sends it back to whoever made that initial request.
With the new database, the information will be accessible to the board online, Hanel said. The software system also will verify aliases, coming up with a probability, for example, that a Joseph A. Smith at a certain address is also Joe Smith, he said.
Other states have a similar system, Hanel said.
"It's not going to be foolproof, but it's going to be better than we originally had," he said.
Hanel's job, at the agency that deals with workforce injuries, involves pain medication. Chronic pain is often an issue, he said.
"I see problems where we're using very potent painkillers that do have the potential for abuse," Hanel said. "It's something that we're constantly vigilant about. But you always have to give the individual the benefit of the doubt because you obviously want the pain to be adequately treated. It's a difficult problem to get your hands around."
Oxycodone is the painkiller with the most potential for abuse in the state because it is well-tolerated by the body and is widely prescribed, Hanel said. Hydrocodone products also are widely available, he said.
"The problem is when we get into chronic pain. Oftentimes, increasing the dose is not the answer," he said. "But this message has been drummed into practitioners, that you have to treat the pain."
Lee said pain management is a critical part of health care. While the abuse of pain medications must be stopped, she said, "we can't tie the hands of physicians who are legitimately trying to relieve pain."
Gardog wrote on Aug 22, 2007 5:26 PM:
Your right Actually!! wrote on Aug 21, 2007 6:38 PM:
Actually wrote on Aug 21, 2007 12:16 PM:
What a waste of taxpayer $ wrote on Aug 21, 2007 10:41 AM:
pain wrote on Aug 21, 2007 8:22 AM:
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