Scott Says He Still Opposes Drug Database
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
By: Tom Parkinson

February 23 2011 | WMFE - Governor Rick Scott has again rejected appeals from out-of-state officials to drop his opposition to a prescription drug tracking system. The statewide prescription drug database is designed to crack down on so-called "pill mills."

Florida has become nationally known for its store-front pain management clinics which supply powerful, addictive painkillers on a cash-only basis.
Congress members from New York, Rhode Island, West Virginia and Kentucky sent Scott a letter pleading with him to activate the database which many say is an effective tool for controlling the clinics.
The Congress members say drug dealers from their states travel to Florida in caravans to buy the pills by the hundreds then return to sell them to drug addicts in their home states.
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration says 34 states now have prescription drug monitoring programs.
The databases monitor prescriptions for controlled substances and alert authorities if a patient is seeing multiple doctors or clinics for prescriptions.
Scott says the database would be an invasion of patient privacy and he is also raising questions over the handling of private funds raised to help start the drug database project.