Your Help Needed to Oppose SB 62 (Bill Requiring Medical Board Investigations for Prescription Drug Deaths) May 21, 2013 Advocacy, CMA, Politics and Medicine, Public Health SFMS Legislative Action Alert, prescription drug, Professional Development and Licensure, SB 62 0 On Thursday, May 23, the Senate Appropriations Committee will be considering a bill that would require a coroner to file a report with the medical board when a controlled substance is found to be a contributing factor in a death. While well-intentioned, SB 62 simplifies a very complicated issue to the potential detriment of patients. SFMS/CMA is urging physicians to contact their senators today and ask them to oppose this flawed bill. SB 62 (Price) would expand provisions to require a coroner to file a report with the Medical Board of California when he or she determines that a Schedule II, III, or IV drug was a contributing factor in a death. Senator Price's stated assumption that a coroner’s report connects the dots between overdose deaths and so-called physician overprescribing is fundamentally flawed. This bill is a response to growing concern about prescription drug abuse, an issue that is of great concern to SFMS/CMA and physicians across the state. However, the statistics show that the vast majority of people who abuse prescription drugs acquire them from friends and family (often without their knowledge) or from sources other than the prescriber. There are also many circumstances in which individuals with legitimate prescriptions for controlled substances might die, including non-compliance with prescriber's orders or mixing the drugs with other substances like illicit drugs or alcohol. If this bill is allowed to become law, it will become increasingly more difficult for patients being treated for pain to get appropriate treatment, as physicians will become less likely to prescribe controlled substances for fear of a medical board investigation. We ask that you and your colleagues call, fax, or email your legislators TODAY. Call (877) 362-8455 to be connected with your legislator or click here to send an email (sample email via link). Talking Points As a physician, I am very concerned about the growth in prescription drug abuse and want to be a partner in addressing it, but SB 62 is an approach that will have significant unintended consequences. The reports being required under SB 62 will make physicians less likely to prescribe drugs on Schedule II, III, and IV for fear of investigation even in instances when the care is appropriate. Doing so will impact patient’s ability to get appropriate pain management. There are many circumstances in which a person with a legitimate prescription for a controlled substance may die, including the patient being non-compliant with the prescriber’s orders or mixing the drugs with other substances like illicit drugs or alcohol. Patients being treated for pain may also have comorbities that could result in death. None of these instances reflect inappropriate practice by a physician and yet all of them could be reported to the medical board for investigation under SB 62. Further, the vast majority of people (70%) who use drugs for non-medical purposes did not get it from a prescriber, but from other sources. The risk of negatively impacting patient care must be balanced with the potential benefit. Given all the extenuating factors that exist in assessing overdoses related to controlled substances, SB 62 is not balanced. Comments are closed.
