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Third try: Arizona seeks to create prescription drug database

EHR Connection, April 16, 2007

Arizona legislators are working on their third try to pass a bill that would create a statewide database to monitor prescription drug abuse and physician shopping, according to the East Valley/Scottsdale Tribune. Previous versions of the bill have been vetoed due to privacy issues and funding.

The current bill, headed for the state senate, will be funded by the state pharmacy board's reserve fund. The bill allows for the board to spend up to $400,000 to launch the database, including purchasing and installing software and hiring two staffers to administer it. State and federal officials would be able to electronically track the quantities of drugs that physicians, dentists, and others prescribe. Today, the pharmacy's records are all paper. Thirty-three states, including Virginia, Iowa, Vermont, and Alabama, have instituted similar programs. 

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