I-STOP a good step against drug abuse

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June 13, 2012

I-STOP a good step against drug abuse

Anonymous Daily Star The Daily Star Sat Sep 22, 2012, 03:40 PM EDT

Getting New Yorkers to agree on anything usually takes nothing short of an act of Congress. However, we are pleased to acknowledge that all it took this week is an act of the state Legislature.

Unanimous votes in the Assembly and Senate led to the passage of the Internet System for Tracking Over-Prescribing Act, or I-STOP, intended to curb massive and growing prescription drug abuse.

One American dies every 19 minutes from prescription drug abuse, according to the Centers for Disease Control.

Doctors, whether complicit or befuddled, have prescribed far too many narcotics. In 2009, there were nearly 900,000 oxycodone prescriptions and more than 825,000 hydrocodone prescriptions filled in New York City alone.

Statewide from 2002 to 2009, prescriptions for hydrocodone have increased 16.7 percent, while those for oxycodone have increased a whopping 82 percent.

I-STOP, a joint Attorney General-Governor program bill, passed the Assembly, 116-0, and the Senate, 58-0.

The legislation will create an online database to help doctors and pharmacists track controlled narcotics even as they are considering prescribing and filling prescriptions.

"This is a major victory for the people of New York. With I-STOP, we are creating a national model for smart, coordinated communication between health care providers and pharmacists to better serve patients, stop prescription drug trafficking, and provide treatment to those who need help," Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said in a statement Monday.

Among the bill's highlights:

"¢ I-STOP will make New York the first state to mandate that physicians consult a database of a patient's prescription history before prescribing certain controlled substances. This is to combat "doctor shopping," in which people go to several physicians with the hope of obtaining multiple prescriptions for narcotics.

"¢ I-STOP will make New York the second state to require real-time reporting by pharmacists when filling various prescriptions.

"¢ I-STOP will require a universal mandate _ beginning in December 2014 _ for Internet prescribing of controlled substances to attempt to eliminate forged or stolen prescriptions by addicts and drug dealers.

"¢ I-STOP will end automatic refills for hydrocodone.

"I applaud the Senate and Assembly for passing legislation that will be a critical force in our state's fight against prescription drug abuse," said Gov. Andrew Cuomo in a statement. "Too many families have had to cope with the devastating loss of a teenager as a result of a prescription drug overdose."

We applaud the governor and especially the attorney general, along with the Legislature for passage of this important common-sense bill that takes excellent advantage of current technology to combat substance abuse.