The data from two of the tables in the report (Tables 6.53B and 6.54B) was used to evaluate the source of misused prescription pain medicine, which includes medications "from more than one doctor" (
doctor shopping).
He added that some study participants did say that they later engaged in "
doctor shopping" to locate new sources of prescription pills when acquiring pills from those initial sources became more difficult.
She said the bill is an attempt to prevent what she called "
doctor shopping." Under current law, she said, people trying to obtain illicit doses can visit multiple doctors over a 48-hour period and receive multiple prescriptions before any of those prescriptions are reported.
Questionable opioid use or opioid misuse is operationalized through estimates of
doctor shopping and pharmacy shopping.
"This legislation will make it easier for providers to track prescriptions and harder for prescription forgery to occur while helping to prevent
doctor shopping," said Rep.
The commission's report contained 56 strategies that included expanding drug courts to all federal court jurisdictions, making continuous training a requirement for prescribers to be licensed, and mandating prescribers to check prescription drug monitoring databases to ensure patients are not "
doctor shopping."
Almost all states now have prescription registries to help detect
doctor shopping, multiple prescribers, and misdirection.
A state's PDMP can reveal whether patients may be obtaining multiple controlled substance prescriptions from different doctors or
doctor shopping, Ms.
Approximately 500,000 people nationwide engage in
doctor shopping every year.
Such databases have made it more difficult for individuals to go
doctor shopping for prescription medication, but research is still ongoing as to what type of impact PDMPs are having on reducing opioid overdose deaths and improving interventions.