Upcoming changes to Florida Law should make it tougher for “doctor shoppers” to get their hands on prescription medications. Starting in December of this year a new law will force all doctors and pharmacists to enter the names of patients receiving prescriptions for any Schedule II, III, or IV drug, which would include medications like Vicodin, Xanax, and Oxycodone.
A recent St. Petersburg Times article discusses the new law and its loopholes. The full article can be found at the following link:
Doctors and pharmacists will have fifteen (15) days from the date of the prescription to enter the patient’s name into the state database. After the name is placed in the database, the person can be “flagged” when he or she gets additional prescriptions. However, anyone who is “doctor shopping” for pills will have a 15 day window to get to as many pill mills and pain clinics to collect as many pills as possible, before the data base has a chance to catch them.
The law also makes it a first degree misdemeanor (punishable by up to 1 year county jail and a $1,000 fine) for any doctor or pharmacist who does not comply with the reporting requirements. In theory, the law will allow law enforcement to go after the drug abusers and the pill mills and pain clinics that are over prescribing medications.
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