BAY STATE HOPES TO TIGHTEN PRESCRIPTION PAINKILLER RULES BY REQUIRING PHOTO ID

Bay State health officials intend to crack down on abuse of highly
addictive painkillers such as OxyContin by sharing prescription data
and requiring people to show a picture ID when picking up the widely
prescribed drugs. The state Department of Public Health is
proposing new regulations requiring customers to show a picture ID
before they can pick up Schedule II prescription drugs - drugs with
a high abuse risk that include OxyContin, Percocet and Ritalin.
Pharmacists are currently required only to make a "good faith"
effort in verifying a customer's ID - but only 75 percent of
customers actually show them, officials said.

Prescriptions for Schedule II drugs have skyrocketed from nearly
821,000 in fiscal year 1996 to more than 1.8 million in 2005, state
officials said. The same goes for those who have received
prescriptions from several doctors, or filled them in several
pharmacies. The number of scripts written for people exhibiting such
"questionable activity" has nearly tripled in a decade, up to 47,450
in fiscal year 2005 from about 18,200 in 1996. Health officials are
proposing that pharmacists get the name and address of people picking
up Schedule II scripts. They want to create a program to allow
pharmacists, doctors and law enforcement to share information on
people who get prescriptions from more than one doctor.

But Albert Sherman, a member of the DPH council that approves new
regulations, said he was concerned with privacy issues. "What's to
keep that information private?" Sherman asked.

Dr. Grant Carrow of the DPH said the data sharing would be done on a
case-by-case basis. The agency plans to hold hearings next month.