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Bills working way through Congress aim to correct prescription drug problem
DEA’s former associate chief counsel: Bills would be game-changers
The problems WESH 2 News has uncovered with Florida’s prescription drug problem reach far beyond the Sunshine State. Roots of the issues causing many ill patients to be denied their medication reach all the way to Washington, D.C.
Federal laws govern what the Drug Enforcement Administration can and cannot do. Two bills are working their way through Congress taking aim at the DEA and how it does business, in terms of patients who are denied their medications.
The Ensuring Patient Access and Effective Drug Enforcement Act of 2015 is co-sponsored by two Florida lawmakers in the House by U.S. Rep. Gus Bilirakus, and in the Senate by Marco Rubio.
One of the main pillars of the bill would require the Department of Health and Human Services to report to Congress on how law enforcement activities to crack down on illegal drug activity impact patient access to medications.
The DEA’s former associate chief counsel told WESH 2 the bills on Capitol Hill would be a game-changer for those in fear of the DEA.
“I think what has happened as far as the fear you mentioned, the pharmacists or wholesalers, it actually is a result of the current enforcement environment,” Linden Barber said. “That is what creates fear, it’s the fact that there are no clear standards. There is no clear guidance.”
The Health and Human Services report would include:
- A study of the obstacles in legitimate patient access to controlled substances
- How collaboration between law enforcement at every level and the pharmaceutical industry can benefit patients and prevent misuse of controlled substances
- Plus consultation from just about every group vested in the topic, including patient groups, pharmacies, wholesalers and law enforcement
The bill almost mirrors the fixes recommended by a contentious Government Accountability Office report, calling out the DEA for its role in hindering prescription access for millions of Americans.
Filed under: General Problems
With an easy click of a button the doctor shoppers can be shut down in every pharmacy. The programs are in place.
If you try and fill a script before the 30 days are up you get flagged. If you try and use a different doctor with a new script before the 30 days are up you get flagged too. Pharmacy’s just have use the programs.
But using Congress to fix this problem should be interesting to say the least.
You are working under the false presumption that no one presents stolen/fake/forged ID’s. If the system was changed to using digital finger print reader of index finger. Too many faked/forged ID’s to make the PMP dependable.. Can’t forge a finger print
The DEA has no business bullying legitimate doctors and pharmacists, the end result is it’s causing a problem with quality of care for the patient who is the one suffering because of these tactics that they pulling on the medical community. Have forgotton the patience bill of rights…!