California uses web-based tool to track suspicious drug use
By anne
Created Sep 17 2009 - 11:55am

The state of California has rolled out a new web-based tool that tracks the use of controlled substances, including addictive painkillers such as Oxycontin and Valium. The idea is to help nurses, doctors, pharmacists and other healthcare professionals track potentially duplicative scripts which could feed patient addictions.

The database, known as the Controlled Substance Utilization Review and Evaluation System (CURES), has already logged in 100 million prescription entries. Given the size of California's own healthcare system, which includes 7,500 pharmacies and 158,000 prescribers reporting prescriptions each year, CURES is already the largest online prescription-drug monitoring database in the country, according to state Attorney General Jerry Brown.

While providers have been able to access information from cures for years, they'd had to request information via fax, then wait for officials to verify that the requester was a doctor, a process which took a week or so.

Now, doctors, pharmacists, midwives or registered nurses can simply register for access to the site. Then, they can view a patient's entire history of Schedule II, III or IV drug usage for any patient within moments. Some law enforcement officials and medical regulatory boards also will have access.

http://www.fiercehealthcare.com/story/ca...-use/2009-09-17

"Now, doctors, pharmacists, midwives or registered nurses can simply register for access to the site. Then, they can view a patient's entire history of Schedule II, III or IV drug usage for any patient within moments. Some law enforcement officials and medical regulatory boards also will have access."

And THIS is why I am afraid of Government health care in the USA.
Its NONE of the governments business what the doctor gives me..

Next thing you know, when you get pulled over for a traffic ticket, the officer is going to look on his computer in his car and see what "drugs" you may be taking.

This is a slippery slope friends.

But I know, the "Great One" says on TV that you need it, so I guess you have to believe him. Right?

Only medical professionals should have access. Noone else.

Just a tip on meds and cops; it is a good idea to stick the pharmacy receipt for meds in your wallet in case you do get stopped and have loose meds on you. So you can prove that you do indeed have a valid script. I do the same thing when I travel/fly.

THE GREAT ONE says you need it????? I've NEVER heard Limbaugh say we NEED THIS!!! or were you speaking of Hannity? I've never heard HIM say it either. Those are the only "GREAT ONES" I can think of?

Why in He11's name would LE need my prescription drug useage. IF they needed it in a situation of an accident, They could go through the usual channels and call my Dr. Big Brother is right around the corner. Next it's your employer can access the database and then they will be keeping track of how much red meat you eat and your beer purchases and and and... Thank god I'm too old to see this country go to pot.... (pun intended) !!

And probably soon enough it'll be open to the public so we can all check inside our neighbor's medicince cabinets via our computers.

I don't know if this witch hunt by the government will ever cease.

Methinks he is here already.

I'm down with ya, to the max, M4A3 & Resorts, but look at the record.
California did this long before Obama became President.

The War on Drugs/People has gone on unabated under both Democrats and Republicans, even when their own families were hurt.

Clintons brother did time for dealing and Clinton did nothing to help him.
Jeb Bush's daughter did time.
AlGore's son was busted for having a car load of unprescribed pills on a California freeway ?
(The media hardly mentioned that one)?

Limbaugh got off pretty easy, with a fine.
(Helps when you have Gazillions of Bucks for a big name attorney)

It's not the party or person in power.
It's the whole stinking system.

Sometimes I think our only hope is an act of God ?
I turn on the TV every day hoping to hear that a meteorite has made a direct hit on the Washington Monument, leaving a big hole and killing every living thing within 20 miles.

Yea, I know that's cold, but as our government has taught me, "Sometimes the innocent must suffer along with the guilty."

That should be our new national slogon, maybe ?
Like the times someone fired a Hell Fire missle into an Iraqi of Afgan wedding party cause they looked suspicous ?
"Sorry about that"

Blank the Blanking Nuts in our government !
Every last one of them !
Blank um if they can't take a joke.

That's all I got to say about that.

When I first saw this my first thought was surely this is invasion of privacy and a breech of doctor patient confidentiality.But it must not be if its already in affect.Another law that we all need,yea right.Just another way to control the masses and keep everyone in line.And have sensitive/private info available to anyone and everyone.I just hope the lawyers can shoot this down like they should do.

Dont hold your breath.

as far as michigan pharmacist go they have been able to do this for years..they look your name up in the system and can instantly see all scripts that you had filled and that is with or without insurance..a few yrs back i had a script filled for 10 mg ambien and ten days later my specialist offered me a script for 5mg ambien(of course i accepted it) i then went to cvs to have it filled thinking i would pay cash for it and also since it was a differant milligran i would get away with it(figured i would stock up a little) well when the pharmacist took my script and saw on the compiuter that i had just had the ambien 10 mg filled ten days earlier he took my script and would not give it back..i was so scared that he would call my family dr about this that i had a huge panic attack..i told my husband what i had done and he kept telling me not to worry that i would not get in trouble for this..anyway nothing ever came of this but the pharmacist also told me there was a red flag now by my name..sry story was so long but this is the [censored]] that happens all the time in michigan..angel

I can't imagine that law enforcement would need someones
RX record. Not a need really.

What next? DNA type's to all insurance companies
before we sign up for health insurance?

Jerry Brown Attorney. General of CA. has spearheaded this
effort to combat diversion. He's a bit Hippy-Dippy so I'm
surprised, he's down for this.

It won't be long before companies hire registered nurses to "look up" employees medical (prescription) records and people are hired/fired depending on the medications they're taking. A LOT can be "assumed" by looking at what a person takes for medication. THIS IS BAD NEWS PEOPLE. Big brother IS HERE.

Resorts, for real.

Sometimes a Dr. Rx's strange things like Risperdol
to help patient sleep.
A nurse looking this up would assume the person is
needing an anti-psychotic, which might raise some
alarms at an ins. co,

This is messed up...bad ... and it's here.

Got a prescription for 15, count them, 15 ambien. Then got a RX for Ambien CR and no pharmacy will fill it for it since the last regular ambien refill was a week ago. They all hassled me about it openly too. Guess you cant change meds if its similiar without your doctor having a personal convo with the pharmacist.

When a physician makes a change in medication like this, it is always helpful for the patient to ask the doctor to call in the new prescription.
That way, no confusion about the dosages or specific drug involved.
There is nothing wrong or unusual about the need for the doctor to speak to your pharmacist. It's typically done for safety purposes, not to have fun hassling anyone.
Do you actually think most pharmacists just like to yank their customers around?

I took in a script for 56 x 30mg morphine MR, the followed it a few days later with a script for liquid morphine 10mg/5mL. And following that, liquid morphine 30mg/5mL, followed shortly after by liquid morphine 100mg/5mL. Just got filled, no questions.

I'm assuming I would get hassle for doing this in the US?

Depends on where it was filled. Most States in the U.S. are on a network that feeds back into itself. Pharmacies that subscribe to it, get anywhere from real time updates, to once a month updates on who filled what when and where.

This has nothing to do with all the RHA stuff going on here. More a concern with legal liability and such.

If you go to a large chain, then all of the chains pharmacies are linked together via real time database. Suprises me to no end when folks say they were suprised that they went to pharmacy "xyz" to fill such and such. Then when they went back to the same pharmacy (or a member of the same chain) to fill a prescription from a different doctor, or the same doctor but for the same medicine, the pharmacist said "hold on there Hoss...".

If you have a long term relationship with the pharmacy, they may just call the doctor for you. Or, they may just tell you to take a hike, or they may call LE if they do not know you.

And, yes, I know some pharmacists as drinking buddies, and some of them DO have a stick up their butt to catch abusers, or people they may profile as an abuser.

Just go the AngryPharmacist website. He is about typical. He feels compassion for real pain sufferers, but he has no problem telling off folks he thinks are abusers. And yes, in his posts, he puts out there all the reasons you have ever heard someone use who "lost, flushed, had stolen" their meds.

Pharmacists constantly question folks who are getting more than they think they should.

I took them all to the same pharmacy, though I have used the same pharmacy for years. They can loan you some pills in advance if you forget to collect your prescription from the doc and you run out.

Damn, I wish we were friends. lol

Must be nice to live in a country where the "drug Nazis" have not yet invaded your doctors office or pharmacy, Nephro ?

Beware of your "Friends across the pond !"

The American DEA wishes to inflict their twisted sickness on everyone, worldwide !

Cheers to the UK. for not being bullied or bought off by these beast, like so many other countries have been.

One of the key talking points of the current health care reform debate is to digitize all (everyone's) medical records. The rational behind implementing this idea is that duplicate medical testing like MRI's, X-rays, and other diagnostic testing will be eliminated. The jobs created by digitizing medical records is also touted as a plus to implementing this "cost saving" measure. However, It doesn't take a rocket scientist to discern that such a database can easily be quarried to identify anything about your medical condition and any and all medications you have received. Right down to the second you payed for it. I no some states have similar databases already up and running but this would take it to the national level. If / when this becomes a reality a novice hacker will be able to view anyone's medical history including how many time his girlfriend bought yeast infection medication. (Sorry laddies, I couldn't think of an embarrassing example for men)