As an opioid bill
sails through the House, doctors are concerned because the new law would allow only a three-day prescription for painkillers.
TALLAHASSEE — A bill designed to stem the epidemic of opioid abuse and overdoses was approved Monday by a House committee, despite objections from some doctors that a provision limiting the length of some prescriptions is impractical.
The bill, HB 21, would require more reporting to the state opioid prescription database and provides funding to expand the database to work with other states so physicians can prevent doctor shopping across state lines. It also increases reporting requirements for pain management clinics to state health agencies.
In 2016, there were 3,310 deaths resulting from overdoses from heroin, fentanyl, oxycodone and hydrocodone in Florida, a 35 percent increase from the year before. In Orange County, there were 191 opioidrelated deaths.
Other societal costs related to the epidemic have skyrocketed as well. Opioid-related hospital costs have risen from $460 million in 2010 to $1.1 billion in 2015, according to the Florida Behavioral Health Association.
“I don’t think I need to tell anyone here how bad the opioid epidemic is,” said bill sponsor Rep. Jim Boyd, R-Sarasota. “Probably everyone in this room has been affected either through friends or family or some way or another.”
But the bill’s language to limit prescriptions of Schedule II drugs, such as oxycodone, to three days or less has raised the most concerns among some doctors.
There is an exemption in the bill that allows physicians to issue a seven-day prescription if they deem it “medically necessary,” but for Dr. Hank Hutchinson, that’s not good enough, especially for patients dealing with chronic pain issues or traveling from out of town to see specialists.
“Putting a strict day limit on prescripts is really bad for our patients,” said Hutchinson, a Tallahassee orthopedic surgeon. “You’re going to cost them a lot of money by having to get refills all the time.”
Parents of addicts and mental health advocates, though, say the bill should go even further, limiting exemptions and putting additional funding toward prevention and treatment.
“Addiction is a preventable disease; we need to be on the forefront of stopping this epidemic,” said Theresa Miller, who became and an anti-drug activist after her son became addicted to opioids.
The House version of the bill doesn’t include the $53 million requested by Gov. Rick Scott in his budget recommendations. But House budget chairman Carlos Trujillo, R-Miami, said the chamber will have funding for treatment and prevention in its overall budget.
But there’s concern even that money won’t be enough to reverse the increase in opioid overdoses. Attorney General Pam Bondi, a member of a federal task force set up by President Donald Trump to address the problem, told the News Service of Florida last week the funds were “a great start” but that “we need much more money for treatment.”