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Ohio to Help Prescribers Boost Use of Drug Abuse Database
By: Associated Press
Posted on:
Update 1:25 p.m.
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) – Gov. John Kasich is announcing plans to make it easier for pharmacists and medical professionals who prescribe drugs to tap into an Ohio database meant to prevent abuse of prescription painkillers.
Kasich said Monday that Ohio is making up to $1.5 million available annually for prescribers to integrate their computer systems with a state database that tracks patients’ prescribing history.
The state began requiring the use of the database four years ago to prevent so-called doctor shopping, where patients try to obtain drugs from multiple caregivers.
Kasich announced the funding at a Columbus Kroger store. The chain has integrated the database into its pharmacy system at all 226 Ohio stores, boosting the system’s use.
Fatal drug overdoses are the leading cause of accidental death in Ohio.
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) – Ohio Gov. John Kasich plans to discuss the state’s latest efforts to fight opiate abuse at an event in Columbus.
Kasich, a Republican presidential hopeful, is slated to return to his home state for the noontime event Monday at a Kroger store. A media advisory from his office says he will announce “new advances” to combat the drug problem.
Fatal drug overdoses remain the leading cause of accidental death in Ohio, above car crashes, a trend that began in 2007.
State officials recently reported that 2,482 people died from accidental overdoses in 2014, an 18 percent increase over the previous year.
Kasich has been frequently traveling out of state for his White House bid, spending time most recently in the early primary voting state of New Hampshire.