PULL THE PLUG ON 'PILL MILLS'

Last week, the FBI and DEA raided and shut down two rogue pain
management clinics in Jacksonville, Fla.

Records show that one of the clinics had dispensed 611,000 oxycodone
pills in April and May of this year alone.

"Pill mills," as these clinics are referred to as, have become
increasingly popular as the growing problem of prescription drug abuse
grips our nation.

Claiming to be pain management clinics, these facilities are in
reality nothing more than fly-by-night operations that set up in
communities to make a quick buck. They infest our communities,
bringing increased crime and abuse and give legitimate pain management
clinics a bad name.

The non-medical use of prescription pain-relievers is now the second
most prevalent form of illicit drug use in the nation, accounting for
over 30 percent of all drug abuse in our country. It is our country's
fastest-growing drug problem and poses a serious threat to public
health and safety.

In Georgia, we have a particularly bad problem with "pill mills"
locating in our state because we are one of the few states that does
not have a database of controlled drugs that can be accessed by
prescribers and dispensers.

Making matters worse is that every state that borders us has a
database program in place, chasing the "pill mills" out of their
states and into ours.

The problem has become so prevalent in the greater Atlanta area that
Cobb County has declared a moratorium on the opening of new pain
clinics in order to try and get the problem under control.

Pharmacies located where these "pill mills" have opened have reported
shortages in certain pain medications, resulting in legitimate
patients being unable to obtain their medications.

It is because of these illegitimate "pill mills" infesting our state
that during the last legislative session, I introduced SB 418, the
Patient Safety Act, to set up a database of controlled drugs that are
prescribed and dispensed in our state.

Working with three of the most conservative members of the State
Senate, we crafted legislation that would have created a database
maintained by the State Board of Pharmacy and accessible only by the
Georgia State Medical Board and licensed prescribers and dispensers in
our state. The database would be accessible by law enforcement by
subpoena only.

Dispensers of controlled substances would be required to report on a
weekly basis all controlled prescriptions filled and the information
would be added to the database. All HIPAA regulations dealing with
patient privacy would be followed and access to the database would be
by personal passwords issued by the Board of Pharmacy only.

Stringent penalties - in some cases $250,000 and imprisonment - would
be accessed to those individuals who knowingly requested, used,
obtained or released any information in violation of its purpose.

The legislation was supported by state medical associations, pharmacy
associations and the American Cancer Society, a group that has a
special interest in pain management.

As one adamantly opposed to more government intrusion into our lives,
this was difficult legislation for me to consider. It was especially
difficult for my fellow senators who helped craft the legislation as
all three had opposed similar legislation before.

However, like myself, they recognized the magnitude of the problem and
the need to address the situation and worked responsibly to help make
the legislation as effective, yet non-intrusive as possible.

As a pharmacist, I have spent my professional career trying to help
people live healthier lives through medication management. Pain
management has been a big part of that. As a consultant to Hospice
Savannah for many years, I dealt with patients with unbearable pain,
whose only relief was with pain medication in excessive doses.

As a legislator, I have worked on numerous health care issues,
including chairing a Pain Management Study committee in 2007 that led
to changes that helped raise Georgia's pain management rating from a D
to a B-.

Although the Patient Safety Act passed the Senate last year, it failed
to pass in the House. I will be introducing the legislation again next
year and will work diligently to have it passed. Our state deserves no
less - we must rid our communities of these "pill mills" and the
infestation of crime and abuse that they bring.

State Sen. Buddy Carter, R-Pooler, represents District 1, which
includes portions of Chatham, Liberty and Bryan counties.