Profession
Va. takes script-tracking program statewide
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted June 26, 2006
This month, Virginia became the 23rd state to implement a prescription-monitoring program aimed at cutting down on abuse and diversion of pain medicines and giving physicians a tool to stop "doctor shopping," in which patients obtain prescriptions from a number of doctors.
A new state law creating the program requires Virginia's more than 2,000 pharmacies to send data on Schedule II, III and IV prescriptions to an online database accessible to physicians and law-enforcement officials. Patients must consent to allow physicians to obtain their prescription data.
Police must have an investigation already under way before requesting patient- or doctor-specific records. During the three-year pilot program, about 80% of requests came from physicians, according to database manager Ralph Orr.
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2006/06/26/prbf0626.htm.