SENATE URGES OD REPORTING

District Attorney Says Proposal Would Step Up Anti-Drug Efforts

BOSTON - Essex County District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett applauded a
measure that would mandate doctors, hospitals and clinics to report drug
overdoses within 24 hours.

"I really welcome this tool," Blodgett said of the proposal adopted
yesterday by the Massachusetts Senate. "This isn't so much law enforcement
as it is public awareness. Oftentimes we get numbers that are a year or
two old." Blodgett said reporting overdoses, which could show what he
described as an epidemic use of opiates like heroin and OxyContin, would
help Massachusetts when it seeks federal funding for anti-drug efforts. He
believes state statistics underestimate overdoses by as much as 25 percent
because they are now often reported as heart failures, or simply described
as "medical calls." The data will help measure the size of a problem that
has grown to epidemic proportions North of Boston, said Sen. Thomas M.
McGee, D-Lynn, a co-sponsor of the measure added to the state budget.

"This isn't about criminally prosecuting these people who overdose," he
said. "This transcends communities, economics, race."

The budget amendment would require every physician attending or treating an
overdose to report it to the state Department of Public Health within 24
hours. Managers of hospitals, clinics or other institutions would be
subject to the same requirement.

The reports would be confidential and regulated by the Department of Public
Health. A violator would face a fine of not less than $50 and not more than
$100. Sen. Bruce E. Tarr, R-Gloucester, called the reporting requirement a
sensible step to fight substance abuse.

"This has been recognized as one of the most significant threats to public
safety," Tarr said. "People always ask what they can do, and this reporting
is one of those steps they can take to help solve the problem." Tarr said
the mandatory reporting would help prevent future deaths by letting law
enforcement and public health officials spot high-abuse areas of the
state. Authorities would then police the area and promote prevention
efforts in that area.

Tarr said hospitals and medical providers now voluntarily submit overdose
information to the Department of Public Health.

The Massachusetts Hospital Association had no immediate comment on the
requirement or whether it is a violation of doctor-patient privilege. The
House does not have the provision in its version of the $24 billion budget.
For it to become law, the measure would have to be included in the final
budget hammered out by a special committee next month. McGee said mandatory
reporting was raised during an addiction forum earlier this year at
Merrimack College. He said Blodgett estimated every one of the county's 34
communities has had an opiate or heroin overdose, though no hard data exists.

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA),
part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, does not keep
national data, and few states even compile overdose information. However,
six states for the first time will voluntarily report overdose data to
SAMHSA next month as part of its Drug Abuse Warning Network, said Leah
Young, spokeswoman for the agency. The six states are New Hampshire,
Maine, Vermont, Utah, Maryland and New Mexico.

"We'd be delighted (for Massachusetts) to follow suit," Young said. The
overdose reporting requirement comes two weeks after Lt. Gov. Kerry Healey
unveiled a major anti-drug plan, funded through a $9.1 million supplemental
budget.

The plan targets early prevention and treatment efforts, including student
drug testing. Schools that opt to screen their students would be eligible
for $100,000 from the state, with $80,000 of the grant dedicated to
counseling. Parents would have to sign off on whether their child gets
tested. Healey estimated more than 120,000 people in Massachusetts need
substance abuse treatment services. The state spends about $250 million a
year on substance abuse services.