Bush signs bill creating electronic prescription monitoring

[dogday]

WASHINGTON - President Bush signed into law a bill to create electronic monitoring programs to prevent the abuse of prescription drugs in all 50 states.

The new law creates a grant program for states to create databases and enhance existing ones in hopes of ending the practice of "doctor shopping" by drug abusers seeking multiple prescriptions. It would authorize $60 million for the program through fiscal 2010.

The bill, signed late Thursday at the president's Crawford, Texas, ranch, was sponsored by Rep. Ed Whitfield, a Republican representing Kentucky's 1st District.

Kentucky's existing electronic prescription monitoring database, called KASPER - Kentucky All Schedule Prescription Electronic Reporting - would be eligible for enhancement grants under the bill. Establishing programs in adjacent states would help prevent abusers from crossing borders to get prescription drugs and then bring them back into Kentucky.

http://www.kentucky.com/mld/kentucky/news/breaking_news/12372982.htm

[GreenPartyVoter]

1. Does that mean we can keep tabs on what Laura is downing?

Didn't think so.

[mmonk]

2. How will this affect Rush Limbaugh?

[tomg]

3. Maybe he should call it

The Rush Limbaugh Law

[dogday]

4. What this means is the US Government will know about

every drug we take from a pharmacy. I think this goes way beyond our privacy rights..

[havocmom]

5. Unless we are wealthy enough to pay for medical care without using

insurance. Those folks could still have many different doctors and use a different name with each. So, it won't really stop Limbaugh, will it?

[napi21]

6. I wonder if it works the other way too?

Remember the pharmacist who was diluting the meds so he could make more money?

If they used this database to monitor pharmacies and match their purchases to the amount of each drug sold, it actually could be a good thing.

[rasputin1952]

7. This will go way beyond Scheduled Drug use...it is a simple step to

get info on every Rx that someone is taking....if you know an Rx, you can often figure out the medical situation trying to be treated.

This is a horrid infringement on Rights, and should be shot down immediately. The "dr. shopping" and illicit Rx situation is not a grave threat to the US. It is another poor attempt to gain info on the avg American....:grr:

[fasttense]

8. So they can arrest all them unAmerican, godless, whores who take

birth control. Round them all up and put them in jail.:sarcasm:

[dogday]

9. Had anyone heard of this previous to this post?

I would of been raising hell on this bill. A huge infringemnet upon our rights, huge!

[pitohui]

13. i heard of it

however my complaints were shouted down by the anti-meth hysterics

otc drugs, like claritin, are being monitored as well

no privacy or freedom

price support for foreign drug manufacturers since it shuts down the little guy here at home

i wonder how many pharmacists, doctors, veterinarians will get shot when desperate people pick up guns to get their drugs, in my state we already had a wave of armed attacks on veterinary clinics

i'd rather let them doctor shop & quietly get their shit by paying for it than stick a gun in my vet's face or my druggist's face but i'm funny like that

if you search past threads, you'll find my view was very much in the minority

most are happy to give up access to necessary painkillers or allergy drugs if it stops some redneck on meth from having his fun

[Double T]

10. The US is becoming more like a communist police state with.....

every stroke of bush's pen signing new 'democratic' legislation into law. This is freedom and democracy??

[peacebaby3]

11. I have conflicting feelings about this bill because I work with defendants

in the criminal justice system. Over the last several years we have seen a HUGE increase in the abuse of prescription drugs, either obtained illegally or by Dr. Shopping. The people that obtain them illegally usually buy them from someone who is Dr. Shopping so they can make money from selling the prescription drugs.

About 90% of the defendants I work with are involved in drugs either as straight users or user/dealers. You can almost always count on your client being involved with drugs.

We have seen a huge increase over the last few years in Meth followed closely by prescrition drugs.

I recently worked on a capital case where the defendant was going to 5 Drs. and 8 pharmacies to obtain prescription medications for he and his addicted girlfriend. She was also going to different Drs. and pharmacies. Several of the pharmacies were the same franchise, but were not connected through their computer systems. BTW, the victim was the girlfriend - they had a fight over who took the last Xanex.

It really is a very big problem. I see it everyday.

Now having said that, I don't particularly think it is right for the government to monitor everyone's prescriptions either.

I would like to know more about how they will monitor all of this and who will be able to access this database and the records. As soon as I have time, I will try to read the bill.

If they would actually put money into treatment and some of the underlying problems of drug abuse, we might not need this type of monitoring. And as someone else mentioned, people like Rush Limbaugh will be able to pay other people to go to the Dr. and get their pills so the wealthy will not really have to worry.

[dogday]

12. kick