Tracking Can Save Lives
Massachusetts
Good for Massachusetts – they are tracking prescription drug purchases online, which will reduce doctor shopping and save lives. Other countries have tracked prescription drug purchases for a while, but it seems that profits for big pharma have been of major concern for legislatures here. They have had the power and ability to legislate the tracking of prescription drug purchases for quite a while but didn’t care to.
Oxycontin, Hydrocodone, Percocet, Adderall and other drugs are just too powerfully addictive and lead the user right into a life of drug addiction. Any one of them, abused enough, leads to drug treatment and unfortunately for some, death. There would be absolutely no good reason not to track them except money.
Looks like some lobbyists were asleep in Massachusetts long enough for something sensible to be done. Snooze on………
“Massachusetts health officials approved a plan on Aug. 11 that will allow doctors and pharmacists to track narcotics prescriptions online — a major step toward reducing “doctor shopping” in patients addicted to prescription drugs, officials said.
The Boston Globe reported Aug. 12 that the plan will give doctors and pharmacists access to an online database detailing patients’ previous prescriptions for steroids and potent painkillers, such as OxyContin. “