MONITORING KEY TO STATE DRUG TRACKING

WASHINGTON (AP) - Danna Droz used to dread getting calls from doctors or
police asking if she could help track suspected prescription drug abusers.

"Basically, the answer was no," said Droz, who manages the drug enforcement
division of Kentucky's state health agency. Now Droz can give doctors and
police answers within 24 hours by turning to a database that tracks who
writes, dispenses or receives prescriptions.

Kentucky is among 15 states with prescription drug monitoring programs.
About a half-dozen others are considering them, and advocates are pushing
for a national system to link the state databases.

"A Virginia system would only monitor for Virginia. I can defeat the system
by going to Tennessee and getting a Tennessee doctor to write me a
prescription," said Tammy McElyea, a prosecutor in Southwest Virginia. "We
greatly support a statewide program, but our dream would be a nationwide
program."

Congress has provided $2 million this year for states to start prescription
drug monitoring systems, but advocates say much more is needed.

"That's only enough for four states our size," Droz said. Kentucky spent
$415,000 to start its program in 1999 and spends about $600,000 annually to
operate it, she said.

Rep. Hal Rogers, R-Ky., a senior member of the House Appropriations
Committee, said he would support a national program and more federal money
to help pay for it.

"Hopefully this money will elicit applications, which will give us a better
handle on actually how much money is needed," he said.

Kentucky has received widespread praise for its program, and neighboring
states are looking to it as a model. Supporters say it's successful because
it has privacy protections and tracks all controlled substances, which are
drugs that can be addictive or abused.

To use the system, a doctor or police officer in Kentucky must submit a
written request to the health agency for information. Police must have an
open criminal case. Police can use the information to investigate a case
but not to make an immediate arrest.

"What it helps to do is to give us a summary of a particular person's
history of receiving medications," said Lt. Col. Joe Williams, who runs the
Kentucky State Police drug control unit. "A lot of times they'll go on a
doctor-shopping expedition. They'll go to several doctors in several
different communities to get the drug."

Although Kentucky tracks all controlled substances, much of the attention
now is on OxyContin, a painkiller that is the prescription drug of choice
for many abusers.

OxyContin, produced by Stamford, Conn.-based Purdue Pharma L.P., is widely
prescribed for victims of moderate to severe chronic pain resulting from
arthritis, back trouble and cancer. One pill is designed to last 12 hours,
but those who abuse it usually crush the medicine and snort or inject it to
produce a quick, heroin-like high.

Federal authorities say OxyContin abuse was the probable cause of 296
deaths in 31 states in the past two years.

Other prescription drugs also are subject to abuse.

The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, the industry's
trade group, supports monitoring of prescription drugs if proper safeguards
are in place, said Marjorie Powell, a lawyer for the organization.

"We do have a concern when the system is so heavy-handed that a physician
is reluctant to write a prescription for a pain medication when it's truly
needed," she said.

The Supreme Court ruled in 1977 that state officials could track
prescriptions as long as the information is kept private.

The 15 states with tracking programs are California, Hawaii, Idaho,
Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, New York,
Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Texas, Utah and Washington, according to the Drug
Enforcement Administration and National Alliance for Model State Drug Laws.