newjerseynewsroom.com

Collecting data from 2,000 New Jersey pharmacies

A new tool in the effort to combat the abuse and diversion of prescription drugs and the often-heavy reimbursement costs of fraudulently-obtained prescription medication borne by health insurance companies,-- the New Jersey Prescription Monitoring Program -- was unveiled Wednesday by state Attorney General Jeffrey S. Chiesa.

The NJPMP, maintained by the state Division of Consumer Affairs, has been collecting detailed data from 2,000 pharmacies statewide since Sept. 1. Pharmacies provide data every 15 days on all prescription sales of drugs classified as controlled dangerous substances (CDS) and human growth hormone (HGH).

The result is a searchable database that includes detailed information on the sale of the high-risk drugs when they are dispensed in outpatient settings in New Jersey, or by out-of-state pharmacies dispensing into New Jersey. The information on each transaction includes, among other things: the patient’s name and date of birth; the dates at which the prescription was written and the drug was dispensed; the name, quantity, and strength of the medication; the method of payment for the medication; and the identities of the prescriber and pharmacy. The database now includes information on approximately 4 million prescriptions dispensed in New Jersey in the past four months.

“The New Jersey Prescription Monitoring Program is one of several new tools in our statewide effort to halt the abuse and diversion of prescription drugs and promote fiscal integrity in the healthcare sector,” Chiesa said. “The database will help the Division of Consumer Affairs and other law enforcement agencies identify and investigate individuals and businesses suspected of fraudulently diverting controlled drugs for abuse. By highlighting the location, nature, and extent of abuse throughout the state, the information collected will also better inform our healthcare initiatives and addiction-treatment efforts.”

Patient information in the database is kept confidential in compliance with Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) and Privacy and Security Rules. Under HIPAA and the state law that establishes the NJPMP, Consumer Affairs on Jan. 4, began allowing state-licensed prescribers and pharmacists to obtain free accounts to access and search the database through a secure website.

Registered practioners must certify they are seeking data only for the purpose of providing healthcare to current patients. Any practitioners who access or share NJPMP data for any other purpose are subject to civil penalties of up to $10,000 for each offense, and disciplinary action by the practitioner’s professional licensing board.

Consumer Affairs does provide case-specific NJPMP information to law enforcement agencies, pursuant to grand jury subpoenas or court orders and certifications that the information is requested for a bona fide investigation of a specific practitioner or patient. In addition, the division is required to notify law enforcement agencies or professional licensing boards if the division determines a prescriber, pharmacist, or patient may have violated the law or committed a breach of prescribers’ or pharmacists’ standards of practice.

“We all know that prescription medication, when used properly, can alleviate pain and illness,” Consumer Affairs Director Thomas R. Calcagni said. “The darker, lesser-known side of prescription medication is that, when abused, it can be just as dangerous, addictive, and deadly as heroin. Nationwide surveys show that many still mistakenly believe prescription medication is harmless – and this misperception is fueling a nationwide epidemic that’s sending thousands of New Jerseyans into addiction treatment centers each year, and 40 Americans to the grave each day. The NJPMP is an important tool in our statewide effort to halt the soaring problem of prescription drug abuse and diversion.”

The January 2012 launch is the first phase of a three-phase process during which the NJPMP will be expanded, culminating in approximately May. In addition to its current application for basic searches of patient- or prescriber-specific information, Consumer Affairs is developing procedures designed to enable more complex, statistical analyses. When fully expanded, the NJPMP will generate reports on geographical areas with unusual CDS or HGH prescription activity during a specific time frame; identify physicians in each county who prescribed the largest quantities of a specific drug during a given time period; and provide other information that can help identify and compare troubling patterns of CDS and HGH activity.

Chiesa said that prescription drug abuse is growing at an alarming rate. In 2010, New Jersey saw 7,238 admissions to substance abuse treatment programs as a result of prescription painkiller abuse. That number represents a 230 percent increase from 2005, according to statewide statistics collected by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).

The attorney general noted, for example, that between Nov. 3 and Dec. 7, a person obtained a four-month supply of oxycodone and methadone by presenting prescriptions, now believed to be forged, to three New Jersey pharmacies on a total of 14 occasions. The person circumvented the safeguards that pharmacies and insurance carriers use to spot such abuse by spreading out his visits between the pharmacies, and by paying with cash in some instances and by insurance in others.

As a result, in one month the individual obtained a total of 2,520 doses of addictive, narcotic medications classified as Controlled Dangerous Substances. The prescription abuse was uncovered this month through the NJPMP.

Every day, 40 Americans die from abusing narcotic prescription painkillers, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Prescription drug abuse deaths have more than tripled in the past decade and now kill more people in the U.S. than heroin and cocaine combined. Opioid pain medication abuse accounts for the most common poisonings treated in emergency departments and nearly 1 million Americans are currently addicted to some type of opiate – costing insurance companies, according to some reports, upwards of $75.5 million a year.

The State Commission of Investigation in June reported that a growing number of young people are abusing prescription drugs, and noted a significant trend in which young people who became addicted to painkillers eventually turned to heroin as a cheaper substitute.

For more information on Consumer Affairs’ initiative to halt prescription drug abuse visit:

www.NJConsumerAffairs.gov/PMP.

— TOM HESTER SR., NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM