Florida Pain Patients’ Privacy Protected State Legislature Fails to Pass Prescription Monitoring Program Bill
May 3, 2004
Press Release
Painreliefnetwork.org
Although a prescription monitoring program was Florida Governor Jeb Bush’s number one legislative priority for this session, the bills (House Bill 397 and Senate Bill 580) were blocked last Friday by Republican legislators due to concerns about the privacy of patients.
“Governor Bush’s bill would have institutionalized a climate of fear for pain patients. This is a true victory for patients in pain.” Siobhan Reynolds, the Founding Executive Director of the Pain Relief Network (PRN) said. PRN-a network of pain patients, family members of people in pain, physicians, attorneys, and activists-worked tirelessly during this session to prevent this bill from reaching Gov. Bush’s desk.
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While the prescription monitoring program would have the greatest impact on Florida pain patients, there were additional national implications. Florida was also supposed to be the launching point for the national prescription data base recently announced by the Drug Enforcement Administration, Office of National Drug Control Policy, the Food and Drug Administration and the White House.
For more information about the fight for pain patients in Florida, please visit PRN’s “Anatomy of a Failed Bush Putsch.”
The Facts About Prescription Monitoring Programs
Prescription Monitoring Programs are not effective. They do not reduce substance abuse. Illicit prescription drugs on the streets come primarily from importation and theft. Doctors’ offices are not the source. Evidence: Kentucky has the “gold standard” Prescription Drug Monitoring Program and their rate of abuse of prescription pharmaceuticals is among the highest in the country.
Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs are inaccurate. They misidentify legitimate patients who are simply struggling to survive, labeling them “doctor shoppers.” The system cannot differentiate. With 50 to 70 million Americans unable to access appropriate care, the mistake is foreseeable, inevitable, and devastating.
Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs have a chilling effect on legitimate pain management. Anyone who thinks otherwise is ignoring all available evidence. Evidence: David Joranson’s studies at the University of Wisconsin Pain and Policy Studies Center show that doctors prescribe less opioids, even when opioid drugs are indicated, if they know the government is watching them. If Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs actually worked to curb drug abuse, perhaps one could argue that they had some merit. But since they don’t work, there is no value to offset this unspeakable cost.
