Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear and Attorney General Jack Conway have called for a bipartisan effort to pass House Bill 4, a law that takes aim at illegal pill mills and prescription drug abuse, an epidemic that kills about 1,000 Kentuckians each year, according to The Courier-Journal.
“Every day that we delay strengthening our response to prescription drug abuse is another opportunity for a Kentuckian to fall victim to this devastating scourge,” Beshear said. In fact, since the beginning of this year alone, more than 400 people have been hospitalized due to overdoses.
Something clearly needs to be done as the state has the sixth-highest rate of prescription overdose deaths in the nation, but the law does not come without controversy.
A call to action was issued to doctors by the Kentucky Medical Association regarding provisions in the bill that could possibly lead to privacy infringements and excessive oversight of legitimate medical practices, not to mention any reluctance from doctors to provide pain medication to legitimate patients.
The Kentucky Medical Association issued a “call to action” for doctors to contact lawmakers and express concerns over several hallmark provisions in the bill, which critics say could infringe on privacy and lead to excessive oversight of legitimate medical practices. Read the complete details here:
Interests jockey for influence on Kentucky 'pill mill' bill
Steve Crandall, a medical malpractice attorney in the state of Kentucky, believes it is imperative to stop physicians from writing prescriptions for pain pills that are too often abused or sold to those who abuse them, even if it means adjusting privacy rights.
“This is an example of private physicians preventing the government from helping citizens and lowering health care costs by improving care and stopping abusive prescription practices,” Crandall says.
Please contact Steve Crandall with any of your medical malpractice questions in the state of Kentucky.
Prescription Drug Abuse Devastating State of Kentucky