NETWORK HELPS BAG 'DOCTOR SHOPPING'

New Law, Database A Prescription For Curbing Drug Abuse

"Shop till you drop" can be taken literally in reference to some fatal
cases of "doctor shopping."

Attempts to obtain the same prescription for controlled substances
from more than one doctor became illegal in West Virginia in 2003.

Nationally syndicated talk-radio host Rush Limbaugh's case recently
cast much-needed attention on this crime.

As Limbaugh's lawyers attempt to strike a plea bargain for him in
Florida, pharmacists and police here have been prescribed measures to
end this illicit drug abuse -- and prevent overdoses.

Until recently, West Virginia's doctor-shopping law was virtually
unknown to police or prosecutors.

However, a new statewide database for state pharmacists may serve as a
cure-all for this crime.

Anyone trying to obtain multiple prescriptions of the same drug from
different doctors is finding it difficult to get them filled.

These are legal drugs being used illegally. Doling out medication is
an exacting business and we realize it comes with liabilities. But
trying to determine if a customer is a drug abuser is far from simple
and requires information like this.

The W.Va. Board of Pharmacy's database is a good first step. What once
took days, now takes minutes, pharmacists report.

Statewide networks like the one in West Virginia is one of the best
tools for making these determinations.

Pharmacists typically check with doctors before dispensing certain
drugs, especially legally restricted drugs such as codeine or
Oxycontin. Somewhere in the future a national database that at least
maintains records on certain painkillers, narcotics and the like could
be on the horizon.

In cases like Morgantown's, where two other states' borders are within
an hour's drive we would strongly recommend that pharmacists be aware
of each state's database.

We strongly favor these pharmacists take the extra minutes needed to
check for abuses of the system.

The crime is still a misdemeanor worth enforcing. It carries a penalty
of up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine, which may need to be
beefed up -- depending on how well it deters abuse.

Whether the law serves to prevent people from obtaining duplicate
prescriptions or to prosecute those who do is not paramount to what
this network means to society.

Simply curbing drug abuse in any form is commendable. Obviously,
without consequences, all the programs in the world are not worth much.

The question of whether a drug abuser should get treatment or jail
time is a difficult one.

This law working in tandem with the statewide database we believe
offers hope to the addicted and to society.

Some of us probably thought shopping for the holidays would not ever
be over.

Unfortunately, the season for doctor shopping never ends.