In Midst Of Opioid Epidemic, New California Law Targets ‘Doctor Shopping’ Issue Using Online Database
Physicians will be required to consult a prescription history database when doling out opioids. Meanwhile, officials in Pacific Beach and Ocean Beach are warning about fentanyl-laced cocaine that has been linked to at least three deaths.
Los Angeles Times:
As Opioid Death Toll Worsens, California Doctors Will Soon Be Required To Perform Database Checks
By the time the 59-year-old woman overdosed in the late summer of 2013, she’d been given 75 prescriptions by three primary care doctors, a psychiatrist and a pain specialist in one year. Her deadly cocktail: an opioid painkiller, a sleeping aid and anti-anxiety medication. Had any of the five physicians treating her been aware she’d been “shopping” around for prescriptions? Had they warned her of the dangerous combinations? Had anyone tried to intervene? (Davis, 9/16)
KPBS:
County Officials Warn Of Fentanyl Deaths In Ocean Beach And Pacific Beach
County law enforcement and health officials warned residents Friday of three deaths this past weekend caused by fentanyl-laced cocaine in Pacific Beach and Ocean Beach. ...In addition to the three deaths, two others overdosed on fentanyl-laced cocaine and survived. (Murphy, 9/14)