House Bill 1- Boom or Bust?

House Bill 1- Boom or Bust?

House Bill 1 (the “Pill Mill” bill) which passed the Kentucky legislature in 2012 has been somewhat controversial.  Physicians and their professional associations have grumbled that it is too rigorous, is interfering with doctors ability to practice medicine and innocent patients are being burdened by onerous regulations.

Some of this may be true and I have no doubt there will be some discussions about revisions at the next session.  However, lets recap a few of the successes as highlighted in an article in the Courier-Journal:

• 18 of 44 pain clinics closed or shut down rather than coming under the law’s scrutiny
• 11 pain facilities registering and now subject to on-site inspections
• 6-8% drop in hydrocodone/oxycodone prescriptions from 2011
• 400% increase in medical licensure actions
• Triple the physician use of the KASPER drug tracking system

Van Ingram, Executive Director of the KY Office of Drug Control Policy, when commenting on the Bill notes that one of the goals is, “to promote more deliberate prescribing practices…..and hopefully a reduction in prescription abuse levels”.

Mr. Ingram will be a featured speaker at KWCEA, December 6th & 7th conference in Lexington, KY and we look forward to his update.

This Bill is making it better…..

Call Us.  We can do better.

William V. Faris, JD
Chief Executive Officer
502-495-5040
www.william.faris@omca.biz
www.omca.biz

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