Legislation On Tightening Prescription Drugs Moves Back To Senate

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) -- Minnesota lawmakers are moving to tighten the state's oversight of prescriptions of painkillers and other harmful drugs in an effort to curb opioid abuse.

A bill passed by the House Monday would require all Minnesota doctors, pharmacists and dentists to sign up for the state's Prescription Monitoring Program. Minnesota Public Radio News (http://bit.ly/23VUHjl ) reports that the program is intended to flag to doctors when people are securing prescriptions for painkillers from multiple practitioners — known as "doctor shopping." But just a third of Minnesota's eligible doctors have registered for the system.

The Senate passed a similar bill last week.

Rep. Dave Baker has been a forceful legislative voice on addiction since 2011 when his own son, Dan, died of an opioid overdose. Though the bill doesn't require medical professionals to check a patient's record in the registry when prescribing potentially dangerous medicine, the Willmar Republican said it's a "small step" to instill better oversight.

"It doesn't require that they have to use it every time that they want to do a prescription, but as long as they have that log-in, we at least understand that they know how to get into it, and how easy it is," Baker said.

Minnesota's monitoring program has been in place since 2010. Dr. David Thorson, president of the Minnesota Medical Association, said it's not clear that the program will reduce doctor shopping and the over-prescribing of drugs. Baker noted that many in the medical community are concerned about the extra costs and paperwork that may come if the state requires all physicians to use the registry before finalizing a prescription.

The association is "trying to balance the physician's need to have knowledge about the patient's use of opioids with the added workload that checking the PMP adds." Thorson said.

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