Citing concerns about rising abuse of narcotic pain medications, state officials in Massachusetts plan to step up monitoring of prescription databases and engage doctors and pharmacists in tracking patients suspected of abusing or diverting the drugs, the Boston Globe reported Jan. 25.

Department of Public Health officials say they will notify doctors and pharmacists about patients who receive a questionable number of prescriptions from multiple sources. Currently, about 2,500 of the 500,000 state residents who have prescriptions for narcotic painkillers are suspected of such "doctor shopping."

The Health Department says its intention is to help people who are addicted, but the information they gather on people who get more drugs than legally can be used by one person also will be shared with law-enforcement agencies. "The regulations proposed today will go a long way toward achieving a number of important goals on prescription drug abuse," said Massachusetts Public Health Commissioner Paul J.  Cote Jr.

Some members of the state Public Health Council, which must approve new health regulations, expressed concern about patient privacy and potentially stigmatizing patients falsely as drug addicts. But the Massachusetts Medical Society came out in support of the plan, provided it does not prevent patients from getting care or put doctors in the position of policing their patients.

"Anything that would discourage drug abuse, as long as it doesn't put an excessive, undue burden on pharmacies, we would be supportive of that," added Carmelo Cinqueonce, executive vice president of the Massachusetts Pharmacists Association.