After years of debate about privacy issues and deadly drug use, Florida doctors and pharmacists can start tapping into a state database Monday to check out patients' prescription histories.
The database is aimed at curbing prescription-drug abuse and "doctor shopping" -- addicts going from doctor to doctor to try to score prescriptions for powerful painkillers such as OxyContin.
Sen. Mike Fasano, a New Port Richey Republican who was a key player in getting the database approved, said he views it as the most important part of the state's effort to fight prescription drug abuse. He said it will save lives.
"It's a long time coming,'' Fasano said Friday. "It's a database that was needed many years ago.''
Doctors and pharmacists are not required to get information from the database, but Fasano said he will propose legislation next year to make it mandatory.
Two of the state's most influential physician groups, the Florida Medical Association and the Florida Osteopathic Medical Association, have encouraged their members to take part.
In a recent message to his members, Florida Osteopathic Medical Association President Jeffrey Grove wrote that they would "be able to query the database for any indication a patient is engaging in the practice of doctor shopping for the express purpose of accumulating prescription drugs for illicit reasons. There is no requirement to query the database prior to writing a prescription, but the FOMA strongly encourages you to do so.''
Tad Fisher, executive vice president of the Florida Academy of Family Physicians, said the database could be valuable when doctors do not know patients, such as "walk-in" patients at physicians' offices or urgent-care centers.
"The conversation has always been that a database could be very helpful for patients that you don't have any history on at all,'' Fisher said.
Lawmakers approved creating the database in 2009, but it has long faced controversy because of concerns about patient privacy.
Gov. Rick Scott and House Republican leaders this year raised the possibility of scrapping the database, but that idea ultimately died, at least in part, because of opposition from Senate President Mike Haridopolos, R-Merritt Island.
Florida has received a reputation in recent years as a magnet for prescription-drug abusers and traffickers from as far away as Ohio and Kentucky. Unscrupulous storefront pain clinics in Broward, Palm Beach and other counties became notorious for prescribing -- and in many cases dispensing -- painkillers.
Lawmakers have passed a series of laws to try to crack down on the problems. For example, a law this year barred many doctors from dispensing dangerous controlled substances in their offices, forcing patients to take prescriptions to pharmacies.
Along with facing political opposition, the start of the database was hamstrung by a bid dispute among contractors.
But pharmacies and dispensing physicians in September began loading prescription records into the database. They are required to report information to the database within seven days of dispensing drugs such as OxyContin, Xanax and Valium.
Pharmacies and doctors have already put more than 15 million controlled-substance prescription records into the database, according to the Florida Department of Health.
Doctors and pharmacists who use the system will receive reports that show patient prescription histories, helping them detect possible abuse.
