Florida has a prescription drug database meant to cut down on prescription drug abuse in the state. It keeps of record of drugs that are prescribed to individuals in an effort to cut down on what's called "doctor shopping," or visiting multiple doctors to collect several prescriptions. But Representative Mike Fasano (R-Newport Richey), said not all doctors use it. He's proposing a bill that would require healthcare professionals to check the database every time they write a prescription for a controlled substance.
“Prescribers have checked the database before writing it just 2-percent of the time. This will change that. This will put in place more efficiencies, but also save more lives in the state,” Fasano said.
Opponents of the bill raised concerns about what they called an “additional administrative hassle,” but Fasano said checking the database takes only seconds and won’t delay patient care.
