Mother’s Battle With Prescription Drug Addiction, Doctor Says No to Abusers
Mother’s Battle With Prescription Drug Addiction, Doctor says no to abusers – The battle against prescription drug abuse is one that is not only being waged by those fighting their addictions but also by doctors, healthcare organizations and law enforcement. Illegal use of prescription drugs has increased so much that, this year, the FDA named it the United States’ fastest growing drug problem. April Schalow, a Holland mother of four, agrees telling WNWO “it’s a sickness…you use these drugs to cover up pain.” A recovering addict herself, Schalow initially started taking painkillers for a back injury but continued to take them even after she healed. “[My doctor] kept upping it until I was taking 6 a day and it was Vicodin,” Schalow recalls. In order to curb this kind of prescription drug abuse, by both doctors writing the prescriptions and the patients taking them, both the state of Michigan and Ohio have implemented their own prescription drug monitoring programs (PDMP). Both the Michigan Automated Prescription System (MAPS) and Ohio’s Automated Rx Reporting System (OARRS) work the same way; requiring physicians and pharmacists enter prescriptions into a database that helps officials keep an eye on who’s getting controlled substances and from where. Likewise, doctors and other medical professionals can use the systems to make sure a patient is not “doctor shopping”. In Toledo, Dr. Donald Weathers has gone a step further to protect his practice from prescription pill abusers. According to Weathers’ receptionist, the doctor doesn’t take on new …
New Tennessee law targets prescription drug abuse
Filed under: prescription drug abuse
Reagan said prescription drug abuse and deaths are at epidemic proportions in Tennessee, as evidenced by a study given to lawmakers during the Tennessee General Assembly's 2011 session. “For the last two years, unintentional drug overdose is the …
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New TN prescription drug law rings in New Year
Filed under: prescription drug abuse
Tennessee rings in the New Year with a new law aimed at putting a dent in doctor-shopping and prescription drug abuse. Governor Bill Haslam signed the Prescription Safety Act of 2012 into law in early-May. However, many of its requirements did not …
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New law aims to expand prescription monitoring in the new year
Filed under: prescription drug abuse
Sweeping legislation aimed at reducing prescription drug diversion and abuse is set to take effect in the new year, but there is still uncertainty about how and when the state will implement new regulations. Abuse of prescription opiates is a pressing …
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