Florida Launches New Prescription Drug Initiatives as Problem Compared to Major U.S. Epidemics
Florida authorities are revving up efforts to dismantle "pill mills" and create a more positive reputation for the state, which carries the nation's highest level of prescription painkiller abuse, especially for oxycodone. The problem has been compared to widespread infections of disease in U.S. history, and new, tougher efforts to prevent doctors from prescribing pain medications illegally will be the target.
Last year, 85 percent of the U.S. prescriptions for oxycodone were given in Florida, and the rate of fatalities related to the medication saw a three-fold increase during a four-year span of 2005 to 2009. Statistics indicate that in 2010, well over 41 million oxycodone pills were requested by Florida health practitioners in just the first half of the year. In comparison, if all other states' totals were put together, the level of oxycodone pills would reach only 4.9 million.
A dramatic rise in people seeking treatment for addictions and dependence on prescription drugs also points to the pill problem in Florida, with a four-fold increase over the past decade. Florida surgeon general, Dr. Frank Farmer, has compared the prescription painkiller problem in Florida with major epidemics in U.S. history, including influenza or polio outbreaks. Farmer will spearhead efforts to remove physicians' licenses to practice if they prescribe the drugs illegally.
Among efforts to stop the pill epidemic in Florida is a prescription monitoring initiative, approved in 2009, which will be a database-based system for identifying and tracking abusers. While pharmacists and physicians won't be legally mandated to use the database, it is an opportunity to learn if patients are going from doctor to doctor to get new prescriptions for pain medications.
Not only does prescription drug abuse lead to numerous fatal overdoses, Farmer points out in an article on The Daytona Beach News-Journal, it depletes people's ability to perform on their jobs and is a factor in rising unemployment. The numbers on drug abuse in Florida are also preventing new, large-scale business from exploring the state for business recruitment.
Experts say that not only will Florida officials have to continue enforcing aggressive measures to stop prescription drug distribution, a new look at treatment and recovery for thousands living with addiction is needed.