State officials want to adopt a policy started in San Diego emergency rooms aimed at preventing drug abuse by restricting painkiller use.
Emergency departments in San Diego County have limited the painkillers they dispense: Doctors there don’t prescribe painkillers if the patient is already receiving prescriptions from another provider.
Among other restrictions, ER doctors also don’t refill stolen or lost prescriptions nor do they prescribe long-acting pain medications, such as Oxycontin or Methadone.
The California Department of Public Health is working with other state agencies to adopt these guidelines statewide, calling San Diego’s model “a model for other counties in the state.”
“The county has been and continues to aggressively fight the prescription drug problem in the region to prevent abuse and deaths,” Vice Chairman Dave Roberts said in a news release.
Deaths from prescription drug abuse in San Diego County are on the decline: there were 259 deaths in 2013 (the most recent statistics available), down from 268 the previous year.
Residents are encouraged to report drug activity to police and also can call the prescription drug hotline at 888-662-6384.
