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W.Va. Pain Clinics Screening Patients For Pill Use

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Former narcotics officers are being used at some West Virginia pain clinics to screen patients.
The Charleston Gazette reports Hope pain clinics in Beckley, Fairmont and Kanawha City are charging patients $150 for an initial screening and $75 for subsequent visits.
Raleigh County-based PPPFD Inc. screens the patients for the three clinics. The business name stands for Patients, Physicians, Pharmacists Fighting Diversion.
The screening includes a drug test, background checks and an interview with an officer. Representative Randy Shearer says a controlled substance monitoring database is checked to see if patients have been visiting multiple clinics for prescription pills.
Shearer told state lawmakers last week that the business is helping curb West Virginia's prescription drug problem by reducing the number of pills on the street.