Indiana, Ohio drug tracking databases show promise
Nearly every state – all but Missouri – have databases that track commonly abused prescription drugs, but many are technologically deficient, and their usefulness varies. But two states, Indiana and...
View ArticleTenn. tops charts for pill sales, overdose deaths
Tennessee is ranked in the top one percent of states that sell prescription painkillers, and is also in the nation’s top ten for overdose deaths, according to this article. Since the state’s...
View ArticleIn Fla., pill mill crackdown falling short: Miami Herald
Florida’s battle against its massive prescription drug epidemic has been ongoing for years, with state officials taking a number of measures to combat abuse. But despite these efforts, it seems the...
View ArticleCalif. AG calls for boost to prescription database: LAT
California’s attorney general is pushing lawmakers to fund an effort to identify physicians who recklessly prescribe addictive medications. Kamala Harris told the Los Angeles Times she wants to use a...
View ArticleCalif. medical board under fire amid rising OD deaths
Parents whose children died of drug overdoses urged California’s medical board on Monday to utilize a tracking database of prescriptions to help identify doctors who over-prescribe powerful narcotics...
View ArticleN.C. drug monitoring database underused: report
Like many states, North Carolina has implemented a prescription drug monitoring database to identify people who abuse and misuse powerful painkillers. Now, a new study at the University of North...
View ArticleIowa’s ‘lock-in’ program aims to curb doctor shoppers
Iowa has taken an interesting approach towards stopping the practice of seeking out multiple doctors for painkiller prescriptions with a program that “locks” Medicaid recipients into using one doctor,...
View ArticleCalif. lawmakers take action on painkiller abuse: LAT
A California Senate committee has given the stamp of approval to a package of bills aimed at reducing prescription drug abuse and overdose deaths, including a measure that would require coroners to...
View ArticleGa.’s prescription database in danger due to funding
Georgia’s new prescription drug monitoring database, which is set to become operational in June, may run out of the money it needs to operate soon after its implementation because lawmakers failed to...
View ArticleCalif. Senate OKs prescription drug abuse measures
The California Senate has given the stamp of approval to a package of bills aimed at reducing prescription drug abuse and overdose deaths, including a measure that would require coroners to report...
View ArticleMost heroin addicts initially started on pills: report
Heroin use and overdose deaths have skyrocketed in recent years, and emerging information suggests this is the result of prescription painkiller addicts transitioning to the hardcore street drug....
View ArticleCalif. lawmakers OK painkiller legislation
The California Senate has given the green light to two bills aimed at combatting prescription drug abuse and overdose deaths by helping authorities track painkiller prescriptions and enabling enhanced...
View ArticleGa. pharmacy robberies rise after pill mill crackdown
Pharmacy officials in Georgia are reporting that robberies are occurring with greater frequency in light of the state’s recent crackdown on pill mills. According to this article, Georgia became a pill...
View ArticleMass. Gov. bans Zohydro amid opioid epidemic
Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick has declared a public health emergency in response to the state’s growing opioid addiction epidemic, issuing an order banning the controversial new form of...
View ArticleN.J. docs must boost painkiller vigilance: Christie
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is urging physicians to be more careful about their prescribing habits when it comes to potentially addictive painkillers, and is encouraging their participation in the...
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