Drew Wilson
A pair of Democratic lawmakers announced Tuesday that they had filed bills to combat opioid abuse in Florida.
HB 557 and SB 840 would cut the reporting window for when controlled substance distributions are made to one day, and would require pharmacies or other drug dispensaries to submit the information online.
Current state law gives dispensers 7 days to report transactions to the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program.
Rehabilitative hospitals, assisted living facilities and nursing homes would be exempt from the new reporting requirements so long as the patient receiving the drugs is receiving care on site.
“Our state’s medical physicians and pharmacists don’t have the information they need to identify harmful drug use patterns, and it’s costing families their loved ones,” said Rep. Nick Duran, who is sponsoring the House version of the bill. “This bill gives health professionals actionable data to fight prescription drug abuse and save lives.”
Lake Worth Sen. Jeff Clemens, who is sponsoring the Senate bill, said the more stringent reporting requirements would give physicians “close to real-time data to help them identify patients who may be teetering on the edge of addiction or are doctor shopping.”
The Florida Behavioral Health Association, a group that lobbies on behalf of behavioral health groups, agreed with Clemens.
“Maximum use of the PDMP is a key factor in addressing Florida’s opioid epidemic,” Executive Director Mark Fontaine said. “The PDMP will work more effectively using near real-time data to identify attempts to abuse the system.”
HB 557 is scheduled to be heard by the House Health Quality Subcommittee Wednesday. SB 840 has not yet been assigned to any committees.
