New bill to curb drug abusers from 'doctor-shopping' for prescription pills awaits Inslee's signature
TACOMA -- A new bill awaiting the governor's signature is aimed at fighting the heroin and opiate epidemic in this state.
“It’s just ravaging our community,” Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department spokesperson Steve Metcalf said.
To curb the craving for heroin, more than 500 addicts get methadone through a window at the at the health department.
“They take their doses on the premises,” Metcalf said.
The vast majority of addicts got hooked on heroin after first abusing prescription pills, he said.
“Heroin tends to be cheaper than prescription drugs,” Metcalf said.
It's an epidemic Dr. Nathan Schlicher hopes to fight with a new law aimed at stopping people from "doctor-shopping" to get prescriptions for more and more pills.
Schlicher helped draft HB 2730, now waiting for the governor's signature.
“Patients know our records are fragmented, this process will make sure it’s distilled it's simple and it's in front of you as a provider,” Schlicher said.
Right now doctors have to look up a state database to get the prescription pill history of a patient. Schlicher says many doctors don’t use the system because it is time-consuming and hard to navigate.
“We have the statewide system that's separate from all the health care so we are bringing that statewide database integrating that into health care you are receiving today,” Schlicher said.
That way doctors can get immediate access much like when they see lab results.
“Just like when we look for a lab you got done or X-ray result, we will look for your prescription history,” Schlicher said.
A major step against a raging opiate epidemic. Last year Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department served 1,200 heroin addicts -- that's about a 20% increase from four years ago.
“There is no sign of slowing,” Metcalf said.
It cost about $6 million to treat 1,200 heroin addicts last year, most of the money coming from the federal government. It could take weeks before Inslee decides on HB 2730 but Schlicher believes it will get his signature.