California Seeks Drug Database Requirement for Physicians

(Fall 2015) If approved, new legislation in California will mandate that doctors consult the Controlled Substances Utilization Review and Evaluation System (CURES) database prior to writing initial prescriptions for Schedule II and III drugs such as OxyContin® and other opioids. Physicians would also be required to check CURES each year if the patient’s course of treatment remains the same. The target of the proposed law is to decrease prescription drug addiction and related overdose fatalities.

Currently, doctors are required by law in 10 states to consult a prescription drug database. New York, Tennessee, West Virginia and Kentucky have all implemented a system similar to CURES and have noted great improvements. The number of opiate painkiller prescriptions fell by 7% to 10% in these four states, while “doctor shopping” declined by as much as 75%.

In particular, Tennessee’s database is helping doctors make large strides. Over 40% of prescribers say they tend not to write prescriptions for controlled substances after consulting the database, and 34% are more inclined to recommend substance abuse treatment to a patient. Close to 90% of the state’s physicians believe the database is an important tool for lowering the incidence of doctor shopping.

California’s proposed legislation could also cut healthcare costs dramatically. If California sees the same 75% reduction in doctor shopping as recorded by New York, the state would save about $300 million annually on prescriptions for Medi-Cal patients.

At this time the state’s Senate has approved the measure, but the bill’s momentum stalled in the Assembly due to opposition from the California Medical Association (CMA). The organization cites issues such as undue regulatory responsibility and a higher risk of lawsuits, as well as technical issues with required web browsers in their argument against the plan. Although it supports the use of CURES, CMA calls for these problems to be resolved before it will back the mandatory-use legislation.

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