Answer

OSMAN MONROE

1818 N Street NW,

FLORIDA

14^th OCTOBER, 2017.

OFFICE OF GOVENOR,

UNDER NICHOLAS DURAN 
STATE OF FLORIDA
THE FPHA LOBBYIST AND GENERAL COUNSEL,
357 S. MONROE ST.
FL42376-00100.

Dear Sir,
RE: SUPPORT ON PENDING LEGISLATION ON PRESCRIPTION DRUG MONITORING IN HEALTH CARE ORGANIZATIONS

The Florida Prescription Drug Monitoring Program, also called E-FORCSE (Electronic-Florida Online Reporting of Controlled Substance Evaluation Program), was introduced by the Florida Legislature as a strategic initiative for enhancing safe prescriptions of controlled substances for reducing rate of drug diversion and abuse within Florida (Bao et al., 2016). Currently, the E-FORCSE that is being used in Florida for monitoring entails a selective Appriss Health for developing an effective database. The database functions by collecting and storing dispensing and prescribing data for all controlled substances within in Schedules II, III, and IV. According to Section 893.055 within the Florida Statutes, all health practitioners are expected to report to PDMP whenever a controlled substance is readily dispensed to a person. The information is then detected on electronic system within seven days of dispensing, a time frame to ensure healthcare providers operate with the most updated available information.

Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs (PDMPs) will provide highly effective operational tools for most government officials to expedite reduction of diversion and abuse of drug prescription (Rutkow et al., 2015). This was an ideological move since PDMPs will further aid in collection, monitoring and analyzing electronically spread prescribing and administering information submitted by dispensing practitioners and licensed pharmacies. Moreover, this is an opportunity that will allow confirmation of the State Surgeon General. Due to the effectiveness of the new PDMP law, the fully operational system has resulted in reduction of oxycodone death rates by up-to 41% (Delcher et al., 2015). It is therefore upon the dispensers of controlled substances to ensure full registration and application of the available database in treatment planning.

Moreover, several other legislation pieces known to have been advocated by the Florida Public Health Association were fully signed and approved by all-inclusive chambers and are currently pending awaiting approval from the Governor and other senior signatories, an expectation of all passed bills (Haffajee et al., 2015). An example to this was when Legislature passed bills for purposes of funding Prescription Data Monitoring and generating timely reporting on a more often basis regarding such medications, which was a fight against opioid abuse.

Laboratory Screening Bill within the same department on Prescription Drug Monitoring but in this case on a laboratory basis. This move will adequately provide all DOH workers will better and quality operational information on how to deal with contaminations from metals and ensure great privacy of blood tests that were found positive (Bao et al., 2016). All patients within level one surgery units will have an upper hand in benefiting from the already set opiate and anxiolytic reversal agents. Moreover, it will allow patients to hire personal advocates to attend their defined or set meetings on matters of health care promotion under registered and licensed health care professionals. To me, this is a broad step of approving the bill which equally means it will definitely be a banner year.

It will also offer the department an opportunity to design and further establish a comprehensive electronic database system for controlling substance prescriptions fed into it, which further provides relevant prescription data concerning patient’s pharmacist or health care practitioner. Either of these officials will then notify the department need for providing them with the patient’s advisory report, otherwise the report will not be handed over directly to any of pharmacist nor practitioner (Haffajee et al., 2015). The system will equally provide adequate data regarding dispensed prescriptions of considerable controlled substances without infringing legitimate prescriptions by any prescriber in the course of professional practice. This program will equally be consistent with the American Society for Automation in Pharmacy (ASAP) standards to ensure compliance with Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) steered towards protection of health information and other relevant federal laws and regulations.

The department will also expedite establishment of appropriate policies and procedures regarding access to database by healthcare providers, storage, management, reporting, implementation, development, evaluation, operations and ensuring adequate and reliable security of available information in the system (Rutkow et al., 2015). Monitoring program will further entail controlling prescribed health substances through development of a dispensing transaction program to any individual or state address within pharmacies not located within the state but still under its jurisdiction.

Additionally, program managers will work hand in hand with assigned professionals in healthcare licensure boards among other stakeholders. It will provide a chance for developing operational rules for ease in identification of controlled substance abuse indicators. If effectively implemented, prescription drug monitoring programs can fully control prevailing prescriber related behaviors through identification of patients exposed to higher risks to doctor diversion and drug shopping. They equally ensure efficiency in law enforcement medical licensure boards for monitoring aberrant prescribing practices. Increase in utilization of similar evolving programs through adoption of equitable practices and policies governing healthcare units is a strategy that effectively contributes to increased sustainability upon implementation. More researches can equally be adopted to expedite evaluation of comparative effectiveness associated with such policies.

In my opinion, I strongly support this bill since it will initiate a state description of quality drug monitoring programs which are potentially identified tools for reining in the prescription opioid overdose epidemic. 

Kind Regards,

Osman Monroe