State's Database Program To Track Pill Mills Is More Like A Placebo

The Orlando Sentinel reported this evening that the Florida Department of Health has finally selected a vendor to implement a plan to deter Florida "pill mills" that was originally passed by the Florida Legislature in 2009.

Unfortunately, the pilot program is so weak at that point, that it is unlikely that many lives will be saved.

The Florida Department of Health has selected Health Information Designs, Inc. of Auburn, Alabama, to design a computer database program to help doctors, law enforcement, and state officials track prescription drug recipients. (What? There were no computer programming firms in Florida looking for work?) Apparently, the database will not be ready to go until March 2011.

The issue with database is the loopholes. Doctors' offices are not required to participate. The majority of "pill mills" are doctors' offices that dispense drugs directly to patients -- usually for cash. The database program has no way of tracking these transactions in any fashion.

Second, pharmacies are not required to report filled prescriptions for 15 days. Particularly motivated or industrious people looking for prescription drugs can visit an awful lot of pill mills and pharmacies in 15 days, and fade then fade into the woodwork or move on to a different state before receiving any scrutiny.

As I have discussed posts (here, here, here, and here), pill mills are a serious danger in Florida. Even one more wrongful death as a result of a prescription drug overdose is too many.

Call us at 407-254-4901 if you have any questions about pill mills or prescription drug overdoses.