[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 128 (Wednesday, September 17, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1823-E1824]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  INTRODUCTION OF THE NATIONAL ALL SCHEDULES PRESCRIPTION ELECTRONIC 
                         REPORTING (NASPER) ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. ED WHITFIELD

                              of kentucky

                    in the house of representatives

                     Wednesday, September 17, 2003

  Mr. WHITFIELD. Mr. Speaker, on September 4 my colleague Frank Pallone 
and I introduced the National All Schedules Prescription Electronic 
Reporting (NASPER) Act. This legislation would establish a national 
electronic data bank for practitioner monitoring of schedule II, III 
and IV controlled substances.
  Our Nation has been fighting a long battle against the scourge of 
drug abuse and its devastating effects upon our society. The lives that 
are ruined, the families that are destroyed, and the loss to societal 
productivity are almost impossible to comprehend.
  Unfortunately, one of the fastest growing areas of drug abuse is 
through the diversion of prescription drugs. This diversion can include 
such activities as ``doctor shopping'' where individuals go from doctor 
to doctor obtaining multiple prescriptions, or through the illegal 
sales of prescription drugs by doctors and pharmacists, or by 
prescription forgery.
  My own State of Kentucky has been hit particularly hard by the 
epidemic of oxycontin abuse. In a 2001 hearing before the House 
Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice and State, Rod 
Maggard, a former police chief in Harzard, KY, testified on the effects 
of the oxycontin epidemic on our State. He told committee members how 
the drug had ``demoralized our community . . . it bankrupted 
spiritually, morally, and financially people all over our area.'' The 
Associated Press reported how Kentucky was experiencing a crime wave as 
addicts sought to obtain the drug oxycontin.
  Mr. Speaker, I believe that one of the most effective ways we can 
help prevent prescription drug abuse is by getting information to those 
who are on the front line in this battle--that is the doctors, 
themselves. Today, in most States when a patient walks into a doctor's 
office requesting prescription medication, that doctor has no way of 
knowing if he is the first physician that patient has seen or the 
fifth. He simply has to rely on the patient to be honest with him. Now 
obviously, if this patient is an addict or is trying to scam the 
doctor, the doctor is not going to be told the truth. And yet

[[Page E1824]]

we expect this doctor to treat the patient and to be responsible in 
prescribing medication.
  The NASPER Act would take the guess work out of this situation. With 
a national electronic data bank, the doctor could simply access 
prescription information and determine what, if any, medication the 
patient should be given. The bill is consistent with the requirements 
of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and 
the patient would have to give his written consent before the doctor 
could access the data bank. Only the doctor or pharmacist who is 
currently treating the patient could request the information. Each 
request would have to be certified by the treating practitioner or 
pharmacist that the information is necessary for the purpose of 
providing medical or pharmaceutical treatment or to evaluate the need 
for such treatment for a bona fide current patient.
  It is also important to note that as the population in our country 
ages, there will be more and more people who visit multiple doctors for 
various treatments. The NASPER Act would help doctors coordinate the 
medication their patient is receiving from other practitioners so that 
the patient does not experience an adverse medication reaction.

  Currently 15 States have some type of Intrastate Prescription Drug 
Monitoring Program (PDMP). Two additional States are currently in the 
pilot stage of implementing such a program. A May 2002 General 
Accounting Office (GAO) study found that in States where a PDMP was in 
place, ``the presence of a PDMP helps a State reduce its illegal drug 
diversion . . .'' The same report also states that ``the existence of a 
PDMP within a State, however, appears to increase drug diversion 
activities in contiguous non-PDMP States. When States begin to monitor 
drugs, drug diversion activities tend to spill across boundaries to 
non-PDMP States.'' In other words, those who want to scam the system 
know that they will have a difficult time doing so within a particular 
State, so they just move the problem across State lines.
  The State of Kentucky has one of the most effective PDMPs in the 
Nation. However, there are a number of reports that show drug diversion 
problems, particularly in the area of oxycontin abuse, have increased 
in the contiguous States of Tennessee, West Virginia, and Virginia due 
to the presence of Kentucky's PDMP. I believe the only way we can truly 
address this problem is by coordinating our efforts across State lines.
  The NASPER Act builds on the work that has already begun in the 
States. Under this legislation, individual States are permitted to set 
up their own PDMP to the exclusion of the Federal program created by 
the act, as long as the States submit the information required by the 
Secretary of Health and Human Services to the Federal data bank. 
However, the NASPER Act recognizes that if we are truly going to 
address this problem, we need a Federal role to ensure that the States 
will be able to share the information across State lines. An interstate 
system would allow doctors to get the information they need to better 
serve their patients.
  I would like to thank Chairman Tauzin and the staff of the Energy and 
Commerce Committee for their assistance on this issue. The chairman has 
been very attentive to concerns that I and others have raised and I 
look forward to continuing to work with him on this legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, advances in technology have revolutionized health care 
delivery in this Nation. Isn't it time that we used this technology to 
better serve our citizens in the area of prescription drugs? I would 
ask my colleagues to join me in supporting this important legislation.

                          ____________________