The Alaska House of Representatives voted 23-16 Wednesday to pass a senate bill creating a prescription drug database in Alaska despite objections that it could threaten the privacy rights and security of Alaskans.
The bill empowers the Alaska Board of Pharmacy to place in an electronic file information about every prescription dispensed in the state for certain medications controlled under state law (schedules IA through VA), including medicinal narcotics such as painkillers, stimulants, tranquilizers, sedatives and other drugs that the Legislature might add to the scheduled drug statutes.
The law would apply to patients receiving medications through a pharmacy, not inpatients in a licensed health care facility.
The bill is designed to curb misuse of prescription drugs in Alaska and to deter so-called "doctor hopping" by patients. It would not collect any data that is not already required by the federal Drug Enforcement Agency, supporters say.
It will include the date prescriptions were written and filled, how those patients paid the bill, along with their names, addresses and dates of birth, the drug code of the controlled substance, and the name of the pharmacy and pharmacist or practitioner dispensing the drugs.
That kind of information could be used to track prescribing practices and dispensing patterns, and to determine if practitioners are prescribing in an unlawful manner. It would also track individuals obtaining controlled substances with a frequency or in a manner beyond recognized standards for dosage „ exactly the kind of information needed to deter abuse of prescription drugs, sponsors have claimed.
If the system is hacked, however, that data could easily be misused, including alerting criminals to the location of the homes of patients holding prescription drugs, opponents have argued.
Supporters, such as Rep. Jay Ramras, R-Fairbanks, said he shared the concerns for privacy that opponents expressed during debate.
"I value personal privacy. I don't know that there is a person in this room that does not," he said. "However, I also value the safety and security of soccer moms and the rest of us as we enjoy and pursue the quiet enjoyment of our lives."
He noted the information to go into the database already is collected in paper form by pharmacists. He said passing the bill would make communities safer by reducing the availability of illegal prescription drugs.
He also said Alaska was joining 40 other states with similar laws in place and following "best practices" on implementing the program.
Others, however, including Republicans and Democrats, said the bill smacked of "Big Brother," and would infringe on personal liberties and rights.
"Government just seems to invade every part of a person's life. This (bill) is no different," said Rep. Scott Kawasaki, D-Fairbanks.
Rep. John Coghill, R-North Pole, said, "It makes me squeamish."
Rep. Mike Doogan, D-Anchorage, said it posed a threat to Alaskans' privacy, and would put the medical records of law-abiding Alaskans into an electronic form with little guarantee its security could be assured. He recalled an accident on the Coastal Trail several years ago in which he fell and broke his face. He was prescribed painkillers.
"Had this law been in effect, my name would have gone down on a list and been there for two years on a database maintained by the state of Alaska," he said, adding that his mother's medication would have put her on the list, too.
How placing the names of hundreds, maybe thousands of Alaskans whose only sin is to be hurt or sick or suffer chronic pain on a list „ one available to smart hackers „ would make the world a safer place "just escapes me," he said.
The kind of creeping invasion of personal privacy represented by the bill, he added, "makes living in the United States less and less fun all the time, more difficult, more complicated, and in some ways more threatening."
While not intended to be public, the database information could be made available under the law to personnel of the board, drug dispensers including doctors, nurse practitioners, dentists, veterinarians and pharmacists to the extent the information relates to a specific patient, as well as federal, state and local law enforcement authorities under the power of a search warrant, subpoena, or probable-cause court order.
Data would be purged from the system after two years from the date the prescription was filled.
While the measure means putting just about everyone's medical data into an electronic file, state law enforcement data appears to show problems posed by illegal prescription drugs are real, they aren't as prevalent as abuse of other drugs.
According to data in the Alaska State Trooper's 2006 Annual Drug Report, authorities seized less than 3,300 individual illegal pills, roughly one for every 200 Alaskans in the previous year. State drug enforcement officers seized far more marijuana, cocaine, methamphetamine and illegal alcohol in 2006, substances whose quantities the report measured in kilograms and gallons.
Reps. Kurt Olson, R-Soldotna, and Mike Chenault, R-Nikiski, supported SB 196. Rep. Paul Seaton, R-Homer, did not. Rep. Ralph Samuels, R-Anchorage, who supported the measure, has called for reconsideration.
The Senate passed SB 196 last month by a 14-4 vote. It must return there, presuming it passes on reconsideration, for a concurrence vote on amended changes.
Ginger Blaisdell, an aide to Sen. Lyda Green, R-Wasilla, who sponsored the bill, declined comment Wednesday regarding its success until final action. But she did comment on the bill itself.
"I think this bill is a very positive step to at least decrease drug diversion," she said. "Doctors and pharmacists will find it beneficial to health care."
Hal Spence can be reached at hspence@ptialaska.net.
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