Louisiana has more opioid prescriptions than residents.

"Louisiana is one of eight states that has more opioid prescriptions than it has residents. The state has the sixth highest prescription-per-capita rate at 1.03 pain-killer prescriptions written per Louisiana resident in 2015.

But Holcombe argues more can be done, like making better use of the Prescription Monitoring Program operated by the Louisiana Board of Pharmacy.
The database includes anyone in Louisiana that has been prescribed a controlled substance. The problem, Holcombe points out, is that it is not mandatory for every prescriber to check first.
“It has been hugely important, but curiously, it is required that pharmacists check it before administering the prescription but not physicians before prescribing,” he explained.
Changing that would be “a very, very simple thing that could be done to squelch the over-prescribing taking place,” Holcombe said."


Read more about it here.

These States Require Opioid Prescribers to Check for 'Doctor Shopping'.

http://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/blogs/stateline/2016/05/09/states-require-opioid-prescribers-to-check-for-doctor-shopping



(Map does not includes recent addition of the state of California who enacted this law on 9/27/16)

'Doctor shopping' targeted in new law signed by California Gov. Brown.

On September 27, Governor Jerry Brown signed into law a bill that requires all prescribers to check the state-run prescription database (known as CURES 2.0) before prescribing opioid painkillers, sedatives or any other schedule II, III or IV drugs.

http://www.latimes.com/politics/essential/la-pol-sac-essential-politics-updates-gov-brown-acts-to-curb-epidemic-of-1475015236-htmlstory.html

Metairie, LA doctor arrested for threatening law enforcement.

"“As alleged, rather than doing no harm as a physician, Shannon Ceasar illegally dispensed Oxycodone into a community struggling with an epidemic of opioid addiction,” stated U.S. Attorney Polite. “Then, when the governing medical board and law enforcement dared to challenge his criminality, Ceasar threatened to kill them. This level of disregard for human life, particularly from a physician, is absolutely despicable.”"

http://www.wwltv.com/news/crime/metairie-doctor-arrested-for-threatening-law-enforcement/280900794

Inter-State Update

Good news for patient monitoring & diversion prevention professionals:

The Louisiana PMP has added Texas to the states accessible on it's site.
With the current access to Mississippi and Arkansas, this provides access to all adjoining states.

Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA)

An update from Shatterproof.org, on the recent passage of the CARA.
Read the entire post here.

"This bill is an important first step, addressing the opioid epidemic in several ways. It authorizes $181 million in spending for treatment, prevention and recovery programs, and it allows nurse practitioners and physician assistants to prescribe buprenorphine to help treat opioid addiction. Most notably, it is clear recognition by both Congress and the administration that addiction must be treated as a health issue, not a crime."

Excerpt from: "State Policies Regulating the Practice of Pain Management: Statutes, Rules, and Guidelines That Shape Pain Care", American Academy of Pain Management - August, 2016
( http://blog.aapainmanage.org/state-policies-regulating-practice-pain-management/ )

"Over the past 2 decades, pain management in the United States has increasingly come to rely on opioid analgesics as a primary treatment. As a result, there has been a sharp increase in opioid prescribing, with opioid analgesic prescriptions, by weight, quadrupling since 1999. Concomitantly, there has been a dramatic in- crease in overdose deaths involving prescription opioids, with those rates also nearly quadrupling between 1999 and 2008. Although virtually nothing more is known about the circumstances of these overdoses, numerous agencies led by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have called for states to establish more stringent policies with respect to opioid prescribing. The inherent message is: Decreased prescribing is a principal way to achieve fewer overdose deaths."



See link:   http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1932227516000112