STUDY: DOCTORS LIMITED IN PRESCRIPTION TRAINING

WASHINGTON - With abuse of prescription drugs growing rapidly, many
doctors and pharmacists say they have received limited training in
dealing with pain-relievers, stimulants, tranquilizers and other
controlled prescription drugs.

One factor behind the growth is that people easily can get these
drugs from doctors, friends, relatives and through the Internet,
according to a study by the National Center on Addiction and
Substance Abuse at Columbia University.

Relying on various government reports, the study cited rapidly rising
rates of abuse of prescription drugs, especially among teenagers.

About 15 million people in the U.S. abused controlled prescription
drugs and the amount of abuse has gone up sharply over the past
decade among all adults and especially among teens, according to the
center's analysis of federal data on drug use.

Prescription drug abuse is defined in the study as the taking of
prescription drugs not prescribed for the user or use of prescription
drugs taken only for the experience or feeling it causes.

"We have an epidemic of abuse of painkillers," said Joseph Califano
Jr., the center's chairman and president. "The problem with teens is
a far more serious problem than anyone has ever realized."

Many doctors and pharmacists surveyed by the center said they have
received only limited training in prescribing drugs.

Four in 10 doctors said they received no training in medical school
on prescribing controlled substances; more than one-half received no
training on identifying prescription drug abuse or addiction.
Three-fourths said they had no training in medical school identifying
diversion of prescription drugs for illicit purposes.

Four in 10 pharmacists say they have received no instruction since
pharmacy school in dispensing prescription drugs. Almost one-half
said they have received no instruction since pharmacy school in
identifying prescription drug abuse or diversion of prescription drugs.

The separate polls of 979 physicians and 1,030 pharmacists were
conducted during the summer of 2004 and each has a margin of error of
plus or minus 3 percentage points.

ON THE NET

National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse - http://www.casacolumbia.org