Measures by States to Curb Rx Abuse

As legislators work toward national drug reform, individual states are also striving to improve the situation:

• In California, a proposed bill will allow licensing boards to have access to coroners’ reports that detail prescription overdose deaths, connecting the dots between doctors and potential overprescribing patterns.

• With the adoption of a new law, pain clinics in Georgia must now be licensed by the state’s medical board and new clinics are required to be physician-owned. Alabama and Indiana are considering this as a blueprint for their own legislation.

• The Washington State Department of Labor and Industries has shortened the timeframe in which doctors may prescribe narcotics for individuals injured on the job without agency approval from 12 to 6 weeks. After this time, doctors must monitor the recovery process and screen patients for side-effects and addiction.

• In nearby Oregon, the state’s Narcotics Enforcement Association has introduced a proposal to the Oregon Board of Pharmacy that would make it harder for patients to receive prescription pain medicine without giving the original prescription to the pharmacy. Refills would not be allowed without another written prescription.