According to the Orlando Sentinel, Florida’s prescription-drug-monitoring database, which advocates expect to help discourage doctor shopping and overprescribing of medications, has launched. Those supporting the database have called the system a key tool in combating Florida’s prescription-drug problem. Law enforcement has said that abusers choose Florida because their home state already has a similar monitoring program. In Florida, prescription medication abusers can buy powerful addictive painkillers at medical clinics and pay for their visits with cash at pill mills.
Supporters of the database say the tool will deter drug abusers and rogue physicians. Sen. Mike Fasano, sponsored of the legislation that established the program, called it long overdue.
Supporters of the prescription database also say tracking drug abusers and pill mills will lower the crime rate. A grand-jury report on the proliferation of pain-management clinics in South Florida said burglaries and robberies in the areas where pain clinics operate have increased. Identity-theft and organized-criminal activities also increased.
The database will track anytime a prescription is dispensed for controlled substances, the doctor and the patient’s name. The information will be shared with law enforcement, though they will have to show proof of an investigation in order to access the information.
An Orlando injury attorney can provide guidance if you have been injured because of a medical center, healthcare professional or a pharmacy error.