Congressmen Whitfield Introduces Prescription Drug Abuse Legislation

Press Release

Congressmen Whitfield Introduces Prescription Drug Abuse Legislation

Congressmen Ed Whitfield on Thursday introduced legislation that will help prevent prescription drug abuse. The legislation, entitled the National All Schedules Prescription Electronic Reporting Act (NASPER), would create a federal grant program to help establish or improve state-run prescription drug monitoring programs.

Prescription drug abuse is a problem that continues to grow and affects more Americans everyday, said Whitfield. My legislation will allow physicians to detect abuse and prevent the practice of doctor-shopping. Currently, a patient can cross a state line and circumvent efforts by states to monitor prescriptions of controlled substances.

It is estimated that more than 6 million Americans abuse prescription drugs. Currently, Kentucky and twenty other States have prescription drug monitoring programs. A 2002 report from the General Accounting Office (GAO) suggests that the individual state programs have been quite successful, but the report also clearly describes the limitations of the current approach. For example, while patients can and do cross state lines regularly to seek appropriate medical treatments calling for prescription drugs, others travel to neighboring states for the purpose of gaining inappropriate access to these medications. The scope of the problem is unknown, because not all states have programs in place, and existing programs are not yet equipped to efficiently and effectively share information across state lines.

Kentuckys system is one of the top monitoring programs in the country, said Whitfield. In fact, in a short time it will become one of the few states to have its system available for doctors and pharmacists to access online. My legislation will help to further strengthen the Kentucky system, while helping other states start or enhance their own programs.

The legislation will give physicians the resources they need to treat patients while also giving law enforcement additional tools to prosecute individuals who are illegally using controlled substances. Similar legislation introduced by Whitfield passed the House last year.

Source