Health News
The 2012 legislation to crack down on abuse of painkillers in Kentucky had an immediate and significant effect, according to a study by researchers at the University of Kentucky.
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- Expect A Bill That Will Require Doctors To Have Kasper Accounts, State Drug Policy Director Says
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- State Officials Step Up Efforts Against Prescription Drug Abuse, Targeting Doctors
By Tara Kaprowy and Al Cross Kentucky Health News LEXINGTON ? Targeting what Gov. Steve Beshear called "drug dealers in white coats" is the goal of a new effort against prescription drug abuse in Kentucky, which is killing more Kentuckians than traffic...
Health News
Study finds legislative crackdown on pill mills worked, but some providers are still prescribing lots of drugs
By Al Cross
Kentucky Health News
"Doctor shopping," defined as a patient receiving multiple prescriptions from at least four prescribers and at least four pharmacies in a three-month period, declined by 52 percent, according to the researchers' analysis of 2009-2013 data from the Kentucky All Schedule Prescription Electronic Reporting system, which tracks prescriptions for controlled substances.
Interviews with prescribers, pharmacists and law-enforcement officials found that they "believed KASPER to be more effective at reducing doctor shopping than reducing the abuse and diversion of prescription drugs," study report says. "This perception may be a direct result of the impact of mandatory registration and greater use of KASPER by these professionals."
Use of the KASPER system increased greatly, with 322 percent more pharmacists and 262 percent more prescribers using it, and making 650 percent more queries to see patients' prescription history, said UK's Institute for Pharmaceutical Outcomes and Policy.
The number of prescribers of controlled substances (CS) declined 14 percent. "A minority of prescribers indicated they no longer prescribe CS, or prescribe fewer CS, as a result of the HB1 mandate and its burden on their practices," the report says. However, "multiple analyses in this
comprehensive evaluation argue against a blanket chilling effect" of the legislation, 2012 House Bill 1.
At the other end of the spectrum, some doctors still seem to be prescribing too many drugs. "High-volume prescribers contribute significantly to the overall prescribing of CS in Kentucky and the Cabinet for Health and Family Services should continue to identify and investigate top prescribers for appropriate prescribing practices," the researchers wrote.
At a press conference held to announce the study, Gov. Steve Beshear said the Kentucky Board of Medical Licensure, which filed no CS actions against health-care providers in 2011, has since filed 196 actions against 192 providers.
"What has happened is a cultural shift among the Board of Medical Licensure," which is now working with law enforcement, said Attorney General Jack Conway, who battled with the board and the Kentucky Medical Association, the physicians' lobby, during debate over the legislation.
Conway is the Democratic nominee to succeed Beshear, also a Democrat. Senate President Robert Stivers, a Republican, credited Beshear with encouraging the board to be more active.
The legislation also targeted "pill mills" where painkillers were easy to get. Conway said, "We've shuttered just about every one of the state's non-compliant clinics."
Officials have said the legislation led to a rise in heroin use and overdoses, but the study says the causes are more complicated: "Alterations in the heroin market were underway prior to HB1 and this policy change should not be characterized as the sole contributor to the rise in heroin abuse in Kentucky."
- Ky. Ranks 8th In The Number Of High-prescribing Medicare Physicians For Powerful Narcotic Painkillers And Stimulants
Kentucky ranks eighth in Medicare physicians who are considered "high prescribers" of Schedule 2 medications, drugs that have the highest potential for abuse like oxycodone, fentanyl, morphine and Ritalin, according to an analysis of Medicare data...
- Beshear Oks Prescription Bill, Telling Pill Mills, 'get Out Of This State'
Saying it couldn't get to his desk quickly enough, Gov. Steve Beshear signed a bill aimed at curbing prescription drug abuse in celebration today, warning so-called pill mills to "Get out of this state, because we're coming after you." House Bill...
- Stumbo Bill Aims To Attack Prescription Abuse On All Fronts
House Speaker Greg Stumbo filed a comprehensive bill Thursday aimed at attacking the state's prescription drug problem on all sides, namely taking the data already collected from the 11 million prescriptions dispensed in the state and putting them...
- Expect A Bill That Will Require Doctors To Have Kasper Accounts, State Drug Policy Director Says
By Tara KaprowyKentucky Health News A bill is likely to be filed in the General Assembly that will require drug prescribers to have an account with the state?s drug monitoring system known as KASPER, news that was met with applause at the Different Faces...
- State Officials Step Up Efforts Against Prescription Drug Abuse, Targeting Doctors
By Tara Kaprowy and Al Cross Kentucky Health News LEXINGTON ? Targeting what Gov. Steve Beshear called "drug dealers in white coats" is the goal of a new effort against prescription drug abuse in Kentucky, which is killing more Kentuckians than traffic...