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June 12, 2012

ifroehlich

Drug Abuse Fueled by Doctor Shopping Continues to be Epidemic

Drug Abuse Fueled by Doctor Shopping Continues to be Epidemic
Misuse of controlled prescription drugs continues to be an enormous problem in the U.S. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, deaths from drug overdoses exceeded the number of deaths from traffic accidents in 2009. Of those deaths, 75 percent involved prescription drugs.

A quick scan of recent headlines confirms that this problem continues:
New York Gov. And AG In Agreement To Be A Leader In Fighting Prescription Drug Abuse, June 6, 2012, Workerscompensation.com
98 Arrested in New York Prescription Drug Bust, June 6, 2012 CBS News
Lorain County [Ohio] has more than 20 overdose deaths so far this year, June 6, 2012, The Morning Journal
Prescription pills a greater threat than some street drugs, June 6, 2012, Philadelphia Inquirer
NM No 1 in Injury Deaths, May 23, 2012, Albuquerque Journal. The article goes on to link the injury deaths with prescription drug overdoses.
Of the four states in the articles listed, 3 of them (Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New Mexico) allow electronic prescribing for controlled substances (EPCS). New York state announced a plan to follow suit (see link above).
Electronic prescription for controlled substance softwarecan help doctors identify and prevent “doctor shopping” by those addicted to prescription drugs. Working closely with the DEA and Surescripts, the nation’s largest electronic prescription network, DrFirst developed EPCS Gold℠ 2.0 ,the first ever e-prescribing system available on the market that legally allows physicians to electronically prescribe controlled substances.
Electronic prescribing for controlled substances is now available in 38 states, with Illinois being the latest state added to the list. To learn more about EPCS Gold 2.0, please visit http://www.drfirst.com/e-prescribing-for-controlled-substances.jsp


About ifroehlich

Ms. Froehlich has been with DrFirst since its inception in 2000. In her role as Director of Marketing, she oversees the planning, directing, and coordinating all marketing and public relations efforts at DrFirst. Ms. Froehlich has a B.S. in Communications from the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana.