One researcher and director at Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., says banning physicians from selling narcotics will not solve the problem of pill mills in Florida, according to a Sun Sentinel news report.
Jim Hall, researcher and director of NSU's Center for the Study & Prevention of Substance Abuse, analyzed 2009 data from the Drug Enforcement Administration and found physicians and pain clinics dispense only 16 percent of Florida's entire supply of oxycodone, which is the most highly sought-after narcotic in the state. Nearly 80 percent of remaining oxycodone pills are sold through pharmacies, according to the news report.
Mr. Hall's research comes as Florida's lawmakers struggle to find the most efficient ways to clamp down on the state's growing problem of pill mills and heavy drug trafficking. On one side of the debate, lawmakers believe a computer database logging and tracking pain prescriptions could help reduce doctor shopping. Such a database could go live in several months, according to the news report.
On the other side of the debate, lawmakers including Gov. Rick Scott are starkly against the database, believing it to be ineffectual and an intrusion on patient privacy. Instead, they support a ban on physicians distributing narcotics and other controlled substances, according to the news report.
Read the news report about Mr. Jim Hall's research on oxycodone sales.
Read other coverage about pain management:
- Study: Knee Joint Pain Influences Muscle Function
- SPR Therapeutics Prepares to Launch Pain Relief Device
- Wayne State University to Study Chronic Cancer Pain in African Americans
Jim Hall, researcher and director of NSU's Center for the Study & Prevention of Substance Abuse, analyzed 2009 data from the Drug Enforcement Administration and found physicians and pain clinics dispense only 16 percent of Florida's entire supply of oxycodone, which is the most highly sought-after narcotic in the state. Nearly 80 percent of remaining oxycodone pills are sold through pharmacies, according to the news report.
Mr. Hall's research comes as Florida's lawmakers struggle to find the most efficient ways to clamp down on the state's growing problem of pill mills and heavy drug trafficking. On one side of the debate, lawmakers believe a computer database logging and tracking pain prescriptions could help reduce doctor shopping. Such a database could go live in several months, according to the news report.
On the other side of the debate, lawmakers including Gov. Rick Scott are starkly against the database, believing it to be ineffectual and an intrusion on patient privacy. Instead, they support a ban on physicians distributing narcotics and other controlled substances, according to the news report.
Read the news report about Mr. Jim Hall's research on oxycodone sales.
Read other coverage about pain management:
- Study: Knee Joint Pain Influences Muscle Function
- SPR Therapeutics Prepares to Launch Pain Relief Device
- Wayne State University to Study Chronic Cancer Pain in African Americans