Law enforcement tracking "doctor shopping"
PETOSKEY -- Legislation recently introduced in Lansing is aimed at curbing the prescription drug abuse problem which law enforcemenet officials say is very prevalent in northern Michigan.
While it hardly grabs the attention like cocaine, marijuana, or heroine, Det./Lt. Kenneth Mills of the Straits Area Narcotics Enforcement team says prescription drug abuse is just as dangerous and just as addictive.
"People think they're pharmaceutically made, they're safe to take, but they're ever bit as addictive as any other illegal drug we're seeing out on the streets," Mills said.
While the problem itself is not net, law enforcement is now keeping an eye on another dangerous trend that appears to be on the rise.
"Another thing is doctor shopping, people are bouncing from physician, to physician, to physician and there are different techniques they use to try to trick physicians and pharmacists," Mills said.
With several prescriptions in hand, the person will then travel to various pharmacies to get the prescriptions filled. It's a form of prescription fraud and it's on the rise.
There are several tools healthcare providers have to try to stop it. One such tool is the Michigan Automated Prescription System (MAPS). All prescriptions filled by pharmacists are required to be reported to the agency, but as Mills says, it's not perfect.
"The biggest flaw with the system, and things have really improved over the years with it, but you don't have the real time of that information coming to you," Mills said.
But, that is something that State Representative Kevin Elsenheimer (R-Kewadin) is looking to change.
Last week, Elsenheimer introduced to lawmakers in Lansing a package of eight bills that all target the issue of prescription drug abuse head on.
"It's important that patients get the medicine they need, while having protections in place to keep the drugs out of the wrong hands," Elsenheimer said. "Health care professionals, hospitals and law enforcement must be able to work together with patients to develop a safety net that can monitor the flow of narcotics in Michigan so they are used for the intended purpose of saving lives, not ending them."
The package includes the requirement of patients to provide identification when visiting a doctor or pharmacy, upgrading the state's prescription database to a real-time tracking model and allowing access to that database from law enforcement. The series of bills would also require hospitals to report suspected drug-related incidents to law enforcement and calls for an increase in jail penalties for prescription drug abuse offenses.
"We support the package of bills presented by Elsenheimer as helping beef up the ability to healthcare providers, such as hospitals, physicians and pharmacies to work with law enforcement more closely to monitor the traffic of drugs in northern Michigan," said Jim Flickema, senior director of professional services for Northern Michigan Regional Hospital in Petoskey.
The relationship between healthcare and law enforcement, Mills says, is crucial. He adds that while prescription drugs are good for those individuals who legitimately need it, and take it as prescribed, the issue of abuse needs attention.
Recently U.S. Representative Bart Stupak (D) along with Rep. Ed Whitfield of Kentucky were able to obtain funding for the National All Schedules Prescription Electronic Drug Reporting Act (NASPER). NASPER was first authorized and signed into law in 2005 but never received any funding. The Omnibus Appropriations Act for 2009 included $2 million for the operation of NASPER which was established to assist states in the creation, improvement and expansion of prescription drug monitoring programs.
