Oregon wants to use PDMP to intimidate prescribers

Oregon released an audit of the PDMP in December 2018. They are just now expressing concerns regarding the failure of many providers in using the PDMP system that has been around for years. I have been expressing these concerns for years. I have been pointing out the numerous mistakes the PDMP entries have posted and the fact that many pharmacies have failed to post controlled substance prescriptions on the PDMP system in a timely manner. The Oregon Board of Pharmacy has failed to hold those pharmacies responsible for those mistakes for years. While they complain of the “opioid crisis” and continue to allow drug addicts unfettered access to treatment with Methadone and Buprenorphine while failing drug tests, they want to push all chronic pain patients off opiates to save money and more. They now want to use all this prescribing data that the state originally claimed would be private, and distribute it to law enforcement agencies and medical licensing boards. More and more providers have already ceased prescribing for many of their chronic pain patients, and now even more will quit. They pass “guidelines,” but treat them as regulations and “laws.” They offer no good alternatives to these chronic pain patients who have already tried, and either failed, or received very little long-term benefits from therapies that the insurance companies refuse to pay for or limit the number of visits for. The suicide rate has already gone up on veterans cut off their opiate pain medications by the VA, and now the poorer citizens of Oregon who rely on the Oregon Health Plan will become the newer victims. Killing off the poor seems to be the mantra of saving money for the government. I review records almost weekly that show the same type of chronic pain patients being cut off their medications if they have OHP or Medicare, but being continually prescribed their pain medications if they have good commercial insurance. These providers are not treating patients equally, they’re discriminating based on financial reimbursements.