February 27: Prescription Drug Use Monitoring

By on Feb 27, 2013 with Comments 1

After having two public hearings with doctors, addiction experts, and law enforcement, Rep. Gene DiGirolamo was convinced legislation was necessary to address the abuse of prescription drugs.   His bill makes available to doctors and pharmacists a database that keeps track of patients’ prescriptions for controlled substances, such as pain-relievers.    He also has a bill that restores the 10% funding that he says was cut out of last year’s human services budget.

View here     |     Closed-captioned, view here

Filed Under: Home Page • On the Issues

Tags: • • •

  • Browne57

    I only caught the last half hour of this show but was stunned to hear Rep Gene Digirolamo state that there was only “mild pushback” on the confidentiality issues of his plan, i.e a ‘patients rights to privacy” on prescription drugs written to patients by a doctor, and thought his indifference and lack of concern in this matter was the most alarming to me.
    Addressing this prescription drug abuse issue is well worthy of his efforts, and is well needed due to the abuse of those that do just that with prescription drugs, but never should the direction be at the cost of a individuals right to privacy which is protected by our constitution. I strongly feel he is far over reaching in this area, and in concert with law enforcement, and should find a better way to track prescription drug abuse without infringing on a individual  patients right to privacy. There should be open public hearings that include ”patients”  in this matte,r and in the discussions, instead of closed hearings with law enforcement, doctors, and addiction experts only. The right idea, but the wrong approach, which will only show a police state mentalit,y and the complete and utter abuse of an individuals constitutional rights to privacy.