Opioid bills will put focus on prescription reform in Indiana

Among prescription reform efforts, pharmacists would be required to dispense prescription drugs in lockable bottles.

"These are vials that opioids will leave the pharmacy and have a pin number ... where you put the vial in the medicine cabinet, you know no one can get into it," said state Sen. Jim Merritt, R-Indianapolis.

Randy Hutchens, executive vice president of the Indiana Pharmacists Association, said the association did not yet have a position on Merritt's proposals.

But in a statement, Hutchens said, “Our Indiana Pharmacists Alliance is supporting the fight against the opioid crisis in Indiana. We support pharmacists serving as a primary resource as a medication expert to counsel patients about their medications and reduce opioid misuse; drug take back programs; and prescription drug monitoring."

Both Indiana House Speaker Brian Bosma, R-Indianapolis, and Senate President Pro Tem David Long, R-Fort Wayne, said this week that the opioid crisis would be one of the two top legislative issues facing the 2018 session. The other issue is workforce development, they said.

The Indiana State Department of Health says the three most commonly prescribed drugs that are abused include opioids, depressants and stimulants. Opioid pain relievers, including hydrocodone and oxycodone, contributed to 274 of the 1,236 drug overdose deaths in 2015 in Indiana.

Heroin overdoses, however, saw 40 percent increase in 2015 compared to 2014, a rise that the department attributed to heroin's relatively cheap price and easier accessibility.

Merritt said he also planned to introduce legislation requiring pharmacies to initiate prescription take-back programs, as well as legislation requiring all licensees for controlled substances be registered in INSPECT, the state's prescription monitoring program.

Some physicians have said that their rural offices do not have reliable access to the internet and, subsequently, to the INSPECT system.

Merritt said his legislation would only require registration and not mandate use of the system.

Donnelly bill increases shared data

A bill to address opioid abuse by veterans was signed into law this week by President Donald Trump.

The bipartisan bill was introduced by U.S. Sens. Joe Donnelly, D-Indiana, and Mike Rounds, R-South Dakota.

The Veterans Administration Data Accountability Act, Donnelly said, will enable the VA to share data with Indiana’s prescription drug monitoring program, INSPECT.

The VA is currently sharing prescription data only on veterans, not their dependents or others treated by VA providers, due to technical issues related to the VA’s health records system. As a result, a significant amount of VA prescription data is not being shared with the state’s prescription drug monitoring program, Donnelly said.