Kentucky doctors may face more scrutiny on prescription habits

The state wants to make better use of its drug database to reduce improper prescribing.

By Damon Adams, AMNews staff. Oct. 20, 2003.

Physicians in Kentucky say they are not opposed to a task force's recommendations that prescription monitoring be beefed up, because they believe increased scrutiny may reduce drug abuse in the state, which has been roiled by OxyContin overdoses.

A state task force has recommended expanding use of Kentucky's prescription-drug database to identify trends of abuse and problem areas. One recommendation, if approved by state legislators early next year, would allow the Kentucky Board of Medical Licensure to extend investigations of a physician to other doctors in that physician's practice or community.

Physician leaders said Kentucky doctors who prescribe appropriately should not be concerned about the proposal.

"Our prime concern is the welfare of the citizens of the state. There is a problem, and changes need to be made," said Andrew Pulito, MD, a pediatric surgeon in Lexington, Ky., and president of the Kentucky Medical Assn. "As long as it's not unreasonable, we would be willing to accept some burden."

But some said state prescription-monitoring programs hinder pain treatment. Doctors may be reluctant to prescribe pain medication for fear of being investigated by government agencies that use monitoring to combat diversion and abuse.

"This is like the Inquisition, except it's over pharmaceuticals instead of the devil. I call it 'pharmaceutical McCarthyism,' " said Joel Hochman, MD, a Houston psychiatrist and executive director of the National Foundation for the Treatment of Pain.