Senate Bill S5877

                                BILL NUMBER:S5877

TITLE OF BILL:

An act
to amend the public health law, in relation to filing of prescription
information with the department of health, disclosure of patient
information, establishing a report on prescription patterns in the state
and establishing a safe disposal of prescription drugs task force

PURPOSE:

This bill would help combat the problem of prescription drug abuse by
improving the quality of prescription data collected by the
department of health and making this data more accessible to
distributors and law enforcement officials. The bill would also set
up a task force to create comprehensive new rules regarding the
disposal of unused prescription drugs.

SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 of the bill amends section 3332 of the public health law is
amended to mandate that prescribers submit electronic records of
prescriptions to the department in such manner required by the
commissioner.

              

Section 2 of the bill amends paragraphs d and e of subdivision 1 of
section 3371 of the public health law to allow for the disclosure of
patient prescription information to pharmacists and institutional
dispensers where circumstances indicate the possibility of drug abuse
or diversion.

Section 3 of the bill amends the public health law by adding two new
sections to the law:

The new section 3375 of the public health law mandates that the
department, in consultation with relevant law enforcement develop a
report on patterns of prescriptions in the state based on information
collected by the department. Once finalized, the report is to be
updated quarterly and made available upon request.

The new section 3376 of the public health law would establish the safe
disposal of prescription drug task force. The task force, which would
be comprised of fourteen members and chaired by the commissioner,
will work to assess existing laws and regulations on the disposal of
expired or unused prescription drugs, assess the evidence regarding
the role of unused prescriptions on diversion and possible health
effects from current ways of disposing of these drugs, examine what
regulatory and legal changes would have to be made to enact a new
statewide system for the disposal of these drugs, and within nine
months of their first convening the task force shall present the
governor and the legislature with their report and proposals for
possible new programs governing the safe disposal of prescription
drugs.

JUSTIFICATION:


There has been a very dramatic rise in the abuse of prescription drugs
in the last decade. The numbers are striking - in 1998, admissions
for drug abuse treatment of pain relievers accounted for 1% of
admissions and by 2008 that had gone up to 5.6%. According to the
2008 National Survey on Drug use showed that prescription pain
killers were the second most abused drug in those over 12 years old
after marijuana. In fact, drug overdoses had become the second
highest source of injury deaths in the United States by 2007,
surpassing homicides and suicides, and second only to car accidents
and prescription drug overdoses account for the great bulk of that
increase. Between 1997 and 2007 fatal heroin overdoses have remained
relatively steady around 2,000 and cocaine overdoses have risen from
around 4,000 a year to around 6,000. In comparison, Prescription
opioid pain killer overdoses have risen from 2,900 to 11,500, a 296%
increase.

This epidemic has hit both the young and the old. Surveys by the
Partnership for a Drug Free America have shown that 20% of teenagers
surveyed reported having used a prescription painkiller for
non-medical purposes. Information from the National survey and Drug
Use and Health has shown that by 2009 close to 4% of adults over 50
years old reported using prescription drugs for non-medical purposes,
a figure that had risen from 2.2% in 2004.

While New York has not suffered as badly as other States, with a rate
of accidental drug overdose deaths per 100,000 residents lower than
the national average, that does not mean that the State has escaped
the problems that come along with prescription drug abuse. Testimony
by Bridget Brennan, the special Narcotics Prosecutor for NYC in front
of the Public Safety committee of the NYC council illuminates the
scope of the problem. According to Ms. Brennan, there were a million
prescriptions for Oxycontin alone (not counting any other opioid pain
killer) filled in NYC in 2010. This represented a 97% increase over
the last 3 years, with the highest increases in Brooklyn and the
Bronx (where prescriptions grew by over 100% in those three years).
Just as nationally the increased use of these drugs has led to
increased deaths, in NYC the increase in use has led to an increase
in crimes related to prescription drug diversion. According to Ms.
Brennan, in 2007 6% of her office's caseload was related to
prescription drugs. In 2010, 15% of their caseload was related to
prescription drugs. She highlighted a growing connection between
prescription drugs and guns by noting a couple of cases in which
raids found arsenals of weapons along with prescription drugs.

In order to combat this growing threat, New York State needs to
implement new procedures that will enhance the ability of health care
professionals, the department of health, and law enforcement to deal
with the problem of prescription drug abuse. An important step we can
take is to require that not only dispensers but also physicians
transmit electronic records of prescriptions to the department of
health. This additional data would assist in finding cases where
individuals might be submitting forged prescriptions in order to gain
access to prescription drugs. The bill would also give pharmacists
and institutional dispensers access to patient prescription drug
information in order for them to combat the scourge of individuals
conducting "doctor shopping."


The department of health would have to develop a report analyzing the
prescription drug data it collects in order to highlight patters that
might
expose instances of prescription drug diversion. By regularly having
to update this report, the department will be better able to spot
possible dangerous patterns sooner and will be able to work with law
enforcement officials in a more effective manner to uncover
circumstances of diversion.

Finally, this legislation would establish the safe disposal of
prescription drug task force. Studies like the 2008 National Survey
on Drug Use and Health have shown that left-over and unused
prescription drugs are one source of illegally diverted prescription
drugs. Many localities and organizations conduct drug collection
events that bring in substantial amounts of drugs, which shows that
many individuals hold on to unused prescriptions until they find a
trustworthy method of disposing of them. The state should be
proactive and create a system by which individuals can dispose of
unused prescriptions without having to wait for some organization to
set up an event.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New bill.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None to the state.

EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the first of January next succeeding the
date on which it shall have become a law; provided that, effective
immediately, any rules and regulations necessary to implement the
provisions of this act on its effective date are authorized and
directed to be completed on or before such date.