Addressing the growing wave of prescription drug abuses in New York State, Attorney General Schneiderman unveiled legislation that would create an online database to report and track the prescription and dispensing of certain controlled substances. The “Internet System for Tracking Over-Prescribing Act”, or “I-STOP”, provides health care practitioners and pharmacist with centralized information to avoid over-prescribing, help shut down prescription drug trafficking, and identify and treat patients who seek to abuse prescription drugs. This bill expands on a proposal made by many other officials.
They were quoted as saying that this legislation would allow our physicians and pharmacists to access real time prescription histories to ensure that patients’ prescription use is legitimate not lethal. Hopefully they will shut down prescription drug trafficking and abuse. Oxycodone prescriptions rose 66 percent In New York City from 2007 to 2009 with a great number of these filled in Staten Island. In Buffalo, New York‘s largest meth clinic is beginning to reorganize its service to accommodate an increase in care to treat the number addicted expectant mothers and their newborns.
With I-STOP practitioners and pharmacists will be required to consult the database before prescribing and dispensing a Schedule II, III, IV, or V controlled drug. Practitioners will be able to ensure that the prescription is medically necessary and that the patient receiving the prescription is not an
addict or habitual user. This enhancement of the state’s prescription drug monitoring program will assist in patient care and also help crack down on “doc-shopping”.
Prescription drug abuse is one of the fastest growing drug problems in New York.
