You might think that state drug databases is something new in the efforts to prevent abuse, overdoses, and deaths, but it turns out that the oldest prescription drug monitoring program in the country dates back to California which started tracking prescriptions via carbon copies in 1939! In 1998, California's system became web-based. Most states now refer to their systems as Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs (PDMP), but the struggles continue and are now additionally impacted by state budgets.
Why the urgency to design, maintain, and promote the efficacy of such databases? Here are some facts:
- According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) prescription drug abuse now kills more people every year in the U.S. than cocaine and heroin combined.
- In 2008 15,000 people died as a result of prescription painkillers. This is three times the 1999 statistic.
- In 2010 12 million people in the U.S. aged 12 and over reported non-medical use of prescription painkillers.
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