Internet Drug Tracking Cuts Prescription Drug Abuse
By Katie Wike, contributing writer
New York celebrates success of internet prescription drug tracking system aimed at curbing “doctor shopping”
Last year, the state of New York passed legislation which required providers check real-time patient information prior to prescribing painkillers. The Internet System for Tracking Over-Prescribing Act (I-STOP), has, according to New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, resulted in “more than 66,000 healthcare professionals across the State (running) more than seven million individual prescription checks on nearly three million separate patients since August 2013.”
“Ending the epidemic of prescription drug abuse that plagues too many New York communities has been a top priority of mine since my first day in office, which is why I proposed and helped pass the law that created New York’s historic I-STOP program,” said Attorney General Schneiderman.
Schneiderman’s press release further notes, “By requiring pharmacists to report in real time each prescription they fill for a Schedule II, III, IV or V drug and consult the database before filling any prescriptions, I-STOP has helped provide prescribers with as much information as possible as quickly as possible to avoid dangerous drug interactions and to detect drug dealers who use pharmacies as suppliers.”
According to Fierce Health IT, I-STOP has also reduced the practice of doctor shopping - patients visiting multiple physicians and requesting drugs only available by prescription - by 75 percent.
The Buffalo News reports “New York has made a good start with its I-STOP law,” and cites several examples of how the law is proving beneficial, including catching opiate abusers. The News spoke with Dr. Thomas Lombardo, who first thought I-STOP would be cumbersome and reduce his time with patients before finding “it a useful tool in detecting when a patient wants prescription painkillers for purposes other than treating bona fide pain.
Lombardo cited the story of a patient he treated complaining about aches and pains. At the end of the examination, the patient feigned a lack of knowledge about pain medication but asked if he could have a prescription for a painkiller?
“‘Doctor, you know my sister had a few of those, eh, I don’t know what you call them, hydro tabs or lor-codeines,’ the patient told him, obviously referring to hydrocodone and lortabs. ‘Are you sure? Do you understand that I am now going to go to a state website and find out your prescription history,’ Lombardo responded.
“‘I think I’ve changed my mind,’ the patient quickly said.