MONITORING SYSTEM ON ITS WAY

Program Will Let Licensers, Doctors Track Drugs

State Health Officer Don Williamson says Alabama will begin using a
monitoring system by the first of next year designed to stop people from
"doctor shopping" to get prescriptions for pain medications which can lead
to addiction for some.

The system is geared toward hindering drug abuse, either through drugs
being over-prescribed or patients seeking drugs from a variety of physicians.

The system was authorized by a bill lawmakers passed last year that likely
was encouraged, if not inspired, by concerns over several deaths attributed
to OxyContin overdoses in the Gadsden area a few years ago.

Family members of some of those who died from OxyContin overdoes, along
with members of several law enforcement agencies, called attention to the
problems related specifically to OxyContin. Some family members believed
there were cases of doctors prescribing the drug unnecessarily, sometimes
irresponsibly.

In some cases, it is likely patients sought the drug illegally, either on
the streets or by deceiving a doctor about their condition or going to more
than one doctor to get enough medication - the same methods people use to
try to feed their addictions to other pain medications.

The monitoring system the state is establishing initially will allow
licensing boards to monitor the number of prescriptions doctors are writing
and pharmacies are filling, so those boards can spot possible abuse. Later,
Williamson said, the system will be expanded so doctors can make a phone
call to check into whether a patient seeking pain medication is already
getting it from another doctor.

The program is funded partly through grants and partly through a $10 charge
added to the fee doctors, dentists and veterinarians pay for a license
allowing them to prescribe controlled substances.

Sen. Larry Dixon, R-Montgomery, who is also executive doctor of the Alabama
Board of Medical Examiners said monitoring won't keep or delay patients in
pain from getting medications - something that was a concern as the debate
over the OxyContin problem grew.

Keeping abusers from getting drugs improperly should not block those who
need and would use medications correctly from receiving them. The
monitoring system could be a way to avoid that potential problem.