Calif. Seeks Improved Prescription Tracking

Calif. Seeks Improved Prescription Tracking
September 19, 2009

News Summary

Some good may be coming out of the death of singer Michael Jackson: the state of California is looking to improve its prescription-drug tracking system to prevent the kinds of abuses that contributed to the fatal overdose of the 'King of Pop.'

The Los Angeles Times reported Sept. 15 that the state's Controlled Substance Utilization Review and Evaluation System (CURES) has more than 100 million entries on prescriptions of controlled substances, but response time has lagged for doctors and pharmacists trying to determine if a patient was seeking a legitimate prescription.

Proposed upgrades to CURES would allow instant tracking via the Internet and would give access to the system to law-enforcement officials, as well.

Changes to the system were first proposed after the death of actress and model Anna Nicole Smith, who died of an overdose last year and had been supplied with prescription drugs by her boyfriend and two doctors. Jackson also allegedly received prescription medications from various sources, including the use of pseudonyms.

COMMENTS ON THIS ARTICLE:

Posted by Diane on 21 Sep 09 12:42 PM EDT

Who exactly is being tracked here: the doctors who write non-medical prescriptions, the pharmacies who knowlingly fill them, or the drug-seeking patients? I worry that this response will result in increased harassment of doctors who legimately prescribe pain medications to people with documented chronic injuries and illnesses, much like that from former AG Ashcroft of the previous administration. The wealthy, like Jackson, Limbaugh, Presley, and Smith can ALWAYS get the drugs they want; it is the rest of us who have trouble convincing our doctors that we need pain medication for our crushed discs or fibromyalgia, plus we can be on only one 30-day supply of an opiate-based medication at a time, while the high and mighty can get whatever they want by hiring private doctors and by doctor- shopping. Whose problem is this policy addressing?

Posted by Rufus B on 29 Sep 09 12:00 PM EDT

No amount of monitoring or regulation will prevent the rich and famous from procuring their substance of choice. But an Rx tracking system should not inhibit doctors from prescribing pain medication to those who need it. In fact in the inverse is true. Having a tracking system facilitates legitimate prescription of pain relievers. Our state was one of the first to establish an Rx tracking system and our data revealed that the number of pain reliever prescriptions actually increased after the system went into effect. That may sound counter-intuitive but the system allowed doctors to see who pill was shopping and who was seeking legitimate pain relief. Consequently, the doctors were less likely to err on the side of caution and felt more comfortable prescribing stronger pain medication. The loophole here is that pain clinics are not regulated and this can create “pill mills” where fly by night pain clinics write prescriptions on a cash only basis with no prior examination.

Posted by Anon on 17 Oct 09 05:52 AM EDT

Interesting. does anyone know if they track prescription history in CA? is this the type of information that may come up on a government background investigation? possibly disqualifying me based on the type of medications prescribed? any ideas on this....

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