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Ohio Gets Dozens of Requests for Drug Database Help
By: Associated Press
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COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The state says it has received a huge response to its offer 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.
The requests from 64 entities including hospitals, pharmacies and doctors’ offices represent more than 16,500 Ohio prescribers.
Ohio State Board of Pharmacy Executive Director Steven W. Schierholt says the response underscores the current difficulty in linking to the database.
Gov. John Kasich announced last month that Ohio is making up to $1.5 million available annually for prescribers to integrate their computer systems with the database that tracks patients’ prescribing history.
Fatal drug overdoses are the state’s leading cause of accidental death.