A rash of prescription drug overdose deaths in Michigan, including three in the last year, has caught the attention of the Michigan House, which today announced a plan aimed at halting “doctor shopping” and other abuses of legal narcotics.
“It’s important that patients get the medicine they need while having protections in place to keep the drugs out of the wrong hands,” said House Republican Leader Kevin Elsenheimer, R-Kewadin. “Health care professionals, hospitals and law enforcement must be able to work together with patients to develop a safety net that can monitor the flow of narcotics in Michigan so they are used for the intended purpose of saving lives, not ending them.”
Elsenheimer began working on the multi-bill package when northern Michigan sheriffs spotted a growing trend of prescription drug abuse, including the loss of lives through overdoses when people would “shop” from doctor to doctor for prescriptions of strong narcotics they could then either sell illegally or use themselves.
“Prescription drug abuse is a danger to people of all ages, no matter where they live,” said Sen. Jason Allen, R-Traverse City, who will work on the bill package in the Senate. “Improving Michigan’s monitoring system and allowing health professionals and the police to work together will help enhance safety and peace of mind.”
While still in the development stage, the main sections of the prescription drug abuse package would:
· Require patient proof of identity when visiting the doctor or pharmacy;
· Upgrade the state’s prescription narcotics database to a real-time tracking model;
· Allow law enforcement agencies to access the database;
· Require hospitals to report suspected drug-related incidents to law enforcement, such is already done with dog bites and suspected domestic and child abuse cases; and
· Increase jail penalties for prescription drug abuses/illegally selling, including stricter probation terms regarding access to narcotic medicine.
Elsenheimer expects the draft bills to be finalized and introduced in the House within the next several weeks and be working to include bipartisan sponsorship of the package.
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