Calif. will require doctors to check prescription drug databases

Before prescribing potentially addictive drugs, California physicians will be required to check whether patients have gotten the same drugs from other doctors in the state.

The requirement was signed into law by California Gov. Jerry Brown. Prescribers will have to check the state’s prescription drug monitoring database before writing the initial prescription and then every four months for as long as the drug regimen continues. Medical boards will be responsible for enforcing the law, but there's no requirement for prescribers to withhold medication.

Advocates for the law like Bob Pack argued it’s still a useful tool to prevent patients from “doctor shopping,” because while the database has existed for years, he said few physicians elected to use it.

“Too many doctors for too long refused to use this lifesaving tool,” said Pack, who has been advocating for the database since two of his children were killed in 2003 by a driver under the influence of prescription drugs and alcohol. "Patients will be safer because of this legislation. Every doctor in California will have the information they need to safely prescribe potentially addictive drugs, curb the opioid abuse crisis and prevent prescription tragedies."

All states except Missouri have similar databases. More than 20 now require physicians to check them before writing prescriptions.

Being forced to use the database has changed prescribing habits in other states, according to the group Consumer Watchdog. It cited a survey of Tennessee physicians where 41 percent said they were less likely to prescribe opioids after checking the database.

The requirement will go into effect six month after the California Department of Justice certifies it’s prepared to handle the additional traffic as physicians check the database, according to KQED.