Health News
A plan for an ideal prescription drug monitoring system was published today in the New England Journal of Medicine, with its authors concluding spending more money to improve systems is worth the expense.
To improve databases, the paper's authors recommended "standardization of the type of information submitted to the databases, and a move toward the use of bar-coded prescription paper to more quickly log entries, or a robust e-prescribing system that would eliminate paper and the resulting prescription fraud and 'doctor shopping' that contributes to illicit use of these controlled substances," reports research-reporting service Newswise. (Read more)
Forty-three states, including Kentucky, now have databases to monitor prescriptions for pain relievers and another five states have passed laws to create them, reports Mary Wisniewski for Reuters. Part of the reason for the push is prescription drug abuse is an increasingly big problem, with more people dying from prescription drug overdoses each year than cocaine and heroin combined. Kentucky is a hot spot, with nearly 1,000 people dying from prescription drug overdoses in 2010.
On July 12, a new law will take effect in Kentucky that will make it mandatory for a physician to consult the state drug-monitoring system before writing a prescription for certain drugs for a new patient. Doing so can influence how a doctor chooses to prescribe. A study by the emergency department of the University of Toledo's College of Medicine found "doctors or pharmacists who reviewed state prescription data changed how they managed cases 41 percent of the time," Wisniewski reports
The study found 61 percent of prescribed either no opioid medicine, or less than originally planned, while 39 percent decided to prescribe more. (Read more)
- Kentucky Ranks No. 4 In Painkiller Prescriptions; Neighboring States Are First, Second And Third
Powerful painkillers are a contributing factor in the the rising rate of overdose deaths in the U.S., especially in Kentucky, where officials have recommended more measures be taken to monitor painkiller prescriptions. Now the government is pointing out...
- Deaths By Overdose, Mainly Of Prescription Drugs, Hit A New Record In U.s. In 2011; A Huge Problem In Kentucky
Drug overdose deaths in the U.S. rose for the 11th straight year and accidental deaths involving addictive prescription drugs overshadow deaths from illicit narcotics, new federal data show. In 2010, there were 38,329 drug overdose deaths nationwide,...
- State Prescription Drug Databases Like Kasper Cut Back Doctor Shopping And Drug Abuse, New Study Shows
Photo by iStockphotoResearch from the University of North Carolina indicates drug databases like the Kentucky All Schedule Prescription Electronic Reporting system do reduce doctor shopping and change prescribing behavior. Another article showed state...
- Rogers Joins Bill To Link Up States' Prescription Drug Monitoring Systems
Though a state bill aimed at quashing "pill mills" by proactively tracking drug prescriptions has so far failed to pass in the Kentucky General Assembly, Republican U.S. Rep. Hal Rogers of Eastern Kentucky's 5th District has joined a federal effort...
- Kentucky And Ohio Are Now Exchanging Prescription Data, But System Needs More Use By Health-care Providers And Police
Kentucky and Ohio are now automatically exchanging data on prescription drugs, with a new electronic network called the Prescription Monitoring Information Exchange. PMIX links the Kentucky All- Schedule Prescription Electronic Reporting (KASPER)...
Health News
Improvements to Rx monitoring systems worth the expense, study finds; using systems influence doctors' prescribing decisions
A plan for an ideal prescription drug monitoring system was published today in the New England Journal of Medicine, with its authors concluding spending more money to improve systems is worth the expense.
To improve databases, the paper's authors recommended "standardization of the type of information submitted to the databases, and a move toward the use of bar-coded prescription paper to more quickly log entries, or a robust e-prescribing system that would eliminate paper and the resulting prescription fraud and 'doctor shopping' that contributes to illicit use of these controlled substances," reports research-reporting service Newswise. (Read more)
Forty-three states, including Kentucky, now have databases to monitor prescriptions for pain relievers and another five states have passed laws to create them, reports Mary Wisniewski for Reuters. Part of the reason for the push is prescription drug abuse is an increasingly big problem, with more people dying from prescription drug overdoses each year than cocaine and heroin combined. Kentucky is a hot spot, with nearly 1,000 people dying from prescription drug overdoses in 2010.
On July 12, a new law will take effect in Kentucky that will make it mandatory for a physician to consult the state drug-monitoring system before writing a prescription for certain drugs for a new patient. Doing so can influence how a doctor chooses to prescribe. A study by the emergency department of the University of Toledo's College of Medicine found "doctors or pharmacists who reviewed state prescription data changed how they managed cases 41 percent of the time," Wisniewski reports
The study found 61 percent of prescribed either no opioid medicine, or less than originally planned, while 39 percent decided to prescribe more. (Read more)
- Kentucky Ranks No. 4 In Painkiller Prescriptions; Neighboring States Are First, Second And Third
Powerful painkillers are a contributing factor in the the rising rate of overdose deaths in the U.S., especially in Kentucky, where officials have recommended more measures be taken to monitor painkiller prescriptions. Now the government is pointing out...
- Deaths By Overdose, Mainly Of Prescription Drugs, Hit A New Record In U.s. In 2011; A Huge Problem In Kentucky
Drug overdose deaths in the U.S. rose for the 11th straight year and accidental deaths involving addictive prescription drugs overshadow deaths from illicit narcotics, new federal data show. In 2010, there were 38,329 drug overdose deaths nationwide,...
- State Prescription Drug Databases Like Kasper Cut Back Doctor Shopping And Drug Abuse, New Study Shows
Photo by iStockphotoResearch from the University of North Carolina indicates drug databases like the Kentucky All Schedule Prescription Electronic Reporting system do reduce doctor shopping and change prescribing behavior. Another article showed state...
- Rogers Joins Bill To Link Up States' Prescription Drug Monitoring Systems
Though a state bill aimed at quashing "pill mills" by proactively tracking drug prescriptions has so far failed to pass in the Kentucky General Assembly, Republican U.S. Rep. Hal Rogers of Eastern Kentucky's 5th District has joined a federal effort...
- Kentucky And Ohio Are Now Exchanging Prescription Data, But System Needs More Use By Health-care Providers And Police
Kentucky and Ohio are now automatically exchanging data on prescription drugs, with a new electronic network called the Prescription Monitoring Information Exchange. PMIX links the Kentucky All- Schedule Prescription Electronic Reporting (KASPER)...