May 2--The Legislature has overwhelming approved a bill that aims to curb "doctor shopping" by abusers of prescription drugs, which are causing a growing number of overdose deaths locally and nationally.
The bill is one of 200-some measures awaiting action by Gov. Jim Doyle and has been ardently supported by some law enforcement officials.
Such a law would deter not only drug abusers but doctors who freely prescribe powerful medications, said Lt. Paul Buth, head of drug investigations for the Washington County Sheriff's Department.
"That would be the biggest thing the state could do to stop this," he said.
The bill would create a statewide database to track prescriptions that are filled for drugs deemed to have the most potential for abuse.
Painkillers such as OxyContin, Vicodin and morphine would be among the prescription drugs tracked.
Theoretically, pharmacists and doctors could identify people who go from one doctor to another seeking multiple prescriptions for drugs that can be highly addictive and deadly.
Analysis of overdoses
This year, the Journal Sentinel found that prescription drugs were involved in 70% of drug overdose deaths in the four-county Milwaukee area dating back to 2002.
The newspaper also found that one type of prescription medicine -- painkillers -- caused 60% of the 127 overdose deaths in Milwaukee County in 2009. The same analysis found that painkillers caused all 13 of the most recent fatal overdoses in Waukesha County and all nine of the most recent fatal overdoses in Washington County.
It is important that Wisconsin join the 41 states that have adopted laws to create such databases, said Rep. John Townsend, one of the lawmakers who introduced the prescription monitoring bill.
The Fond du Lac Republican said he was motivated by Fond du Lac-area doctors who support the effort and by knowing a person whose son became addicted to a prescription painkiller.
Townsend also said he thinks the bill would have a particular impact on drug seekers who pay cash for their prescription medicines because some obtain larger quantities of pills than insurance companies would normally allow.
"That's where there's a breakdown or a leakage in the system," he said.
Some drug abusers who have prescriptions for medicines overdose and die on the pills while others sell or give them to other people, sometimes with fatal results. Painkillers are a particular problem.
Nationally, from 1999 through 2006 the number of accidental deaths involving opioid painkillers more than tripled from 4,000 to 13,800, according to a September report from the federal government's National Center for Health Statistics.
Checks not mandatory
Under the Wisconsin bill, pharmacists or others who dispense prescription medications would have to record the information and send it to the state, according to an analysis by the Wisconsin Legislative Council.
Doctors and pharmacists would not be required, however, to check the database before prescribing or dispensing medications.
The state Pharmacy Examining Board would run the program, which would have to comply with state and federal laws protecting patient privacy. The program also would have to be compatible with those in other states so information can be shared easily.
West Allis Police Chief Mike Jungbluth, also a registered nurse, said the law would assist police in prosecuting people who fraudulently obtain prescription medicines.
"That statewide database would help immensely," he said.
Doyle spokesman Adam Collins would not comment on the prescription monitoring bill, other than to say Doyle would act soon on all bills presented to him.
The Assembly passed the bill 89-6, and the Senate passed it 31-2.
PRESCRIPTION DRUG MONITORING PROGRAMS
Forty-one states have adopted laws to create a database for tracking prescriptions issued for drugs that have the most potential for abuse.
Wisconsin, Delaware, Georgia and New Hampshire have bills pending that would create such a database.
Arkansas, Maryland, Missouri, Montana and Nebraska don't have such a law and don't have bills pending.
Source: National Alliance for Model State Drug Laws
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