Wisconsin Looks To Join Neighboring States In Monitoring Prescription Drugs

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Wisconsin wants to expand its prescription drug monitoring program to share information with bordering states and help prevent drug abuse.

The Wisconsin Pharmacy Examining Board is expected to take up the issue at their meeting next month. Department of Safety and Professional Services Secretary Dave Ross says it makes a lot of sense to share prescription painkiller information with other states, especially for border communities. “If we had a system that only addressed prescription drug activity in Wisconsin alone, and someone was doctor shopping – they were going to multiple doctors in Minnesota – we’d have no way to track that,” Ross said. “In the near future we will have an enhancement to the system in which other states will be sharing this information with each other. This is just a great tool.”

Already, Illinois and Michigan are sharing information in a national data system, and Minnesota is in the process of connecting. Dr. Mathew Horning is a family physician at the Chequamegon Clinic in Ashland. He says this expansion is important. “Certainly in Ashland, we’re not that far from Michigan or Minnesota, so that will be another loop that can be closed and we don’t have to worry about people just crossing state lines.”

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The plan now is for Wisconsin to join the interstate data hub in two to four months.