About 4,000 Utahns overdose on prescription painkillers each year, said Rep. Brad Daw. That's why the Orem Republican believes that better record-keeping is worth the initial $31,500 it would take to accommodate the added workload.
The state's Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing (DOPL) would be responsible for notifying the doctors who likely prescribed the drugs involved in overdoses. The extra funding would pay for related costs and a half-time employee who would shoulder that new task.
Someone abusing a controlled substance is often caught up in prescription-shopping, Daw said, tapping up to five physicians to get the drugs in quantity.
So DOPL could be notifying up to 20,000 doctors a year with news of patient overdoses.
HB35 has two companion bills, HB28 and HB36, also sponsored by Daw.
HB28 would require anyone who prescribes controlled substances -- with the exception of veterinarians -- to register with DOPL and take a tutorial and test to use its database. That would require payment of a fee, which would help offset the new reporting costs.
Projected costs for HB28 through 2012 amount to $43,000. Revenue from fees in 2011 and 2012 are estimated at $39,900, leaving a net cost of $3,100.
With HB36, courts would report details to DOPL when someone is convicted of impaired driving or driving under the influence. DOPL would then notify physicians who might have prescribed controlled substances related to those convictions.
HB36 would cost $4,000 to implement in 2011, and then an extra $2,500 each year thereafter.
On Tuesday, HB28 cleared the House 66-3 and HB35 also passed 67-3. Neither had a committee hearing before hitting the House floor. Both now advance to the Senate. HB36 has yet to be heard.
Daw said that a group of Utah County physicians -- called the Substance Misuse and Abuse Reduction Team, or the SMART Coalition -- asked him to run the bills.
Rep. Jack Draxler spoke in support of HB28, which would increase the number of doctors who currently utilize DOPL's database.
When only 20 percent of physicians use the much-needed tool, "we shoot ourselves in the foot," Draxler said, labeling prescription drug abuse a state crisis.
