Prescription Drug Tracking System in Florida Delayed
Last year, Florida lawmakers approved a system to track prescription drugs in an effort to reduce the number of deaths from the misuse of dangerous medications; however, implementation of the program has been delayed, reports The Sarasota Herald Tribune.
Under the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program, doctors and pharmacists are supposed to enter into an electronic database information about medications prescribed that have a high potential for abuse such as methadone, oxycodone, Xanax, Valium, and other narcotics. The name and address of the patient; their date of birth; the name and quantity of the drug; and name of the pharmacy and doctor; as well as how the person paid for the drug should be entered within 15 days of issuance of the prescription. The only exception is extended to a hospital or nursing home that has the ability to dispense drugs directly to the patient.
The system was set up to stop so-called “doctor shopping” by individuals looking to amass drugs for recreational use or for sale on the street. While the program was supposed to debut in December, the launch was delayed after some controversy about the initial bidding process.
Another problem is that the Florida lawmakers who approved the statewide database to track prescription drugs failed to fund the effort. Florida remains the largest state without a program to track how potentially dangerous medications are dispensed.
Always check any prescriptions you receive from the pharmacy. If you have suffered serious side effects from a medicine and believe the drug manufacturer is to blame, the Jacksonville pharmaceutical litigation attorneys at Farah & Farah offer free and confidential consultations.
