FEW HOSPITALS FILING OVERDOSE REPORTS

Few Texas hospitals are complying with a 1999 state law requiring them to
report overdoses of illegal drugs, because no money was allocated for
enforcement, health officials said.

Even when hospitals make reports, the information sits unused in computers
because no one has been hired to analyze it, health officials said.

State Sen. Florence Shapiro who sponsored the legislation, said she is
"shocked" to learn that the law is ineffective.

The legislation, which took effect in September 1999, requires hospitals to
report overdoses of nearly all illegal drugs within 24 hours. Shapiro
pushed for the legislation after authorities said that they were surprised
by increased use of heroin in North Texas and that they often did not
recognize drug problems until someone died or was arrested.

"This is aggravating," said Shapiro, a Republican from Plano. "Before the
last Legislature, we approached them [ state health officials] in regards
to any change that was needed. Nothing was brought to our attention. Now
they say it's because of a lack of money. That's hogwash."

But health officials said legislators should have provided money to
implement or enforce the law. They also said no researchers were hired to
analyze the information.

"Right now, it's a bleak picture," said Dennis Perrotta, chief of the Texas
Department of Health Bureau of Epidemiology in Austin.

With the new law, hospitals and clinics are supposed to report the date of
the overdose, the type of drug, the gender and age of the patient,
treatment, symptoms and whether the patient survived, officials said.

Names and addresses are not released because of a ban by other state statutes.

Violators are to face a maximum of six months in jail and a $100 fine.

Authorities saw how the law could work because of a voluntary tracking
program in Tarrant County that began months before the legislation took effect.

That project issued reports that included information about age groups,
gender, ethnicity and ZIP codes.

"It gave us a good handle on the heroin problem we had," said Larry
Romines, sector commander of the Northeast Tarrant County Drug Task Force.
"I don't get those anymore."

He said he does not get the reports because the heroin problem has declined
in recent months in greater Northeast Tarrant County.

Some information that was gathered using the 1999 law has been sent to the
state's six poison control centers, which are responsible for collecting
it. The centers are in Amarillo, Dallas, El Paso, Galveston, San Antonio
and Temple.

The information is stored on computers at the centers, but the data have
not been analyzed, health officials said.

The number of hospitals reporting was unavailable.

"The reporting is terrible," Perrotta said. "No one is getting in trouble
because they don't make reports to the poison control centers. I can't
force them."

He also said job turnover in hospital administration has hindered reporting.

There are more than 500 hospitals and clinics in Texas, health officials
said. "At a time when hospitals are dealing with other issues, this has not
been a priority to them," Perrotta said. "I understand that.

"We've sent out newsletters to remind hospitals about the law," he said.
"We're getting a little money from another agency this year, so the future
is a little bright, but it's going to take time."

Officials at Harris Methodist Fort Worth and Harris Methodist H.E.B.
hospitals said they have complied.

In North Texas, reporting has improved, but it is still poor, said Greene
Shepherd, a clinical toxicologist at North Texas Poison Center in Dallas.

"We've never had a major education campaign about the law, so that would
help," Shepherd said. "Once we get a solid group of hospitals to report,
then others will follow."

Shapiro said she plans to meet with health officials about improving the
reporting system.

"We may need to fine-tune the law in the next Legislature," she said. "I
don't believe we need a new law."