ILLEGAL PRESCRIPTION USE SHOULD NOT ENDANGER AID TO PATIENTS

In July, The State ran a front-page story discussing illegal abuse of the
pain drug OxyContin and its effect in the Carolinas. The article was filled
with emotional stories of addiction and rogue clinicians who apparently
deal drugs for profit. The stories dramatically exposed a serious public
health problem unknown to many.

My point of concern is that the article focused on only one medication,
OxyContin, while many prescription drugs are subject to illegal abuse and
can be deadly if not taken under a physician's guidance. It also overlooked
the need to protect patients with a legitimate need for pain medicines from
having their access to these medications endangered by unwise enforcement
policies.

The fact is that a lot of prescription medications are abused. We have to
be careful not to allow our reaction to this problem of abuse to affect the
ability of legitimate patients to get medications they truly need. In the
case of the Myrtle Beach Clinic, the story failed to mention that the
doctors were charged not merely with overprescribing OxyContin. They were
charged with over-prescribing other medications with the potential for
abuse, such as Percodan, Percocet, Tylox, Hydrocodone, Lorcet, Lortab,
Xanax and Ambien.

All these medications and many others are abused and illegally sold on the
street. At the same time, they bring relief to patients who suffer from
persistent pain and who take them properly under a doctor's care. Focusing
on one medication does not bring us closer to solving the larger problem.

It's important for all of us to be aware of the full threat drug abuse
holds for our state. It can cause loss of livelihood and family, addiction
and, in some cases, even death. But what most people may not realize is
that many pain patients, for example cancer patients and people with
chronic pain, desperately need proper access to those same drugs.

We must increase our efforts to fight illegal abuse of prescribed drugs.
But while doing so, it is equally important for us to fight to protect the
rights of patients who have a legitimate need for pain medication. When
sensationalized stories are written that focus on abuse of a specific
prescription drug, such as OxyContin, such actions may make doctors afraid
to prescribe the medication. Pain patients may also become afraid to take a
medication that is dubbed "the heroin of the 2000s" by the press, for fear
of being perceived as addicts.

Prescription drug abuse is in some ways unique in its nature and
implications. How we battle prescription drug abuse while protecting
patients' rights requires immediate attentionas an issue separate from
combating illegal narcotics that serve no medicinal purpose.

The misconduct of a few should not be allowed to yield consequences that
damage innocent pain sufferers who obey the law and follow their doctors'
instructions. Unfortunately, that is exactly what can happen when public
officials crack down unwisely on the availability of a particular pain
medication or launch sensational public campaigns against a particular drug
brand.

Obviously, everyone can agree that a campaign should be waged against
prescription drug abuse. As a member of the General Assembly, I intend to
look for better ways to wage that war.

However, it is pointless to target one drug. The better course is to
educate the public and take preventive measures against prescription drug
abuse. We need to educate ourselves with the facts and use innovative
prevention measures to ensure that pain patients do not become innocent
victims in the war against drug abuse.

In the campaign to control the abuse of prescription drugs, the
Legislature, state agencies and the medical community must work together to
fight the problem. We need to start taking steps to better control
prescriptions within our state Medicaid system by investigating and
implementing an effective prescription-monitoring program.

Doctors need to receive proper training to treat pain as well as spot the
signs of addiction. We need to make sure we protect the doctors who
appropriately treat patients, while ensuring that doctors who are proven to
have intentionally abused their position are punished, not just by revoking
their right to practice medicine, but also prosecuting under South Carolina
state law like other drug criminals.

While we continue this fight against illegal use of drugs, let's keep in
mind the right of patients to get the treatment they desperately need
without fear, difficulty or shame.

Rep. Edge represents Horry County in the S.C. House.