Warning to Ohio Docs: Stop Prescribing so Many Pain Pills or Face Consequences

In an effort to reduce the skyrocketing deaths from heroin overdoses in the Buckeye State, regulators are clamping down on doctors and dentists, telling them to pull-back on the number of pain pills they prescribe.  

Typically, doctors and dentists give a patient a 30-day supply of pain pills following surgery or other injury.  The current law allows them to prescribe much more than that, up to a 90-day supply.  That's about to drastically change. 

Ohio Governor John Kasich announced at a news conference that beginning soon, the maximum amount they can provide is a seven-day supply.   The reasoning behind the move is that most patients only need the drug for about three days, and taking them longer than that time period increases the risk of becoming dependent on them. 

"By reducing the availability of unused prescription opiates, fewer Ohioans will be presented with opportunities to misuse these highly addictive medications," Kasich said.

Ohio leads the nation in opioid overdose deaths, according to Kaiser Foundation research.   The number spiked more than 20% in just one year, from 2014 to 2015, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Thirty out of every 100,000 Ohioans died of a drug overdose in 2015.

Opioids include heroin and prescription pain killers.  Substance abuse experts say the two go hand-in-hand.  In fact, the vast majority of people who are addicted to heroin got there by first getting hooked on pain pills.

That's why, right now in Ohio, the focus is on doctors, dentists and their prescription pads.  Kasich announced a two-fold crack-down on these healthcare professionals.  

First, they can only prescribe one week's worth of pain pills to adults, and five day's worth to kids.  This is only for patients suffering from acute pain, not chronic pain.  Acute pain is short-lived, such as the type you experience after surgery.  Chronic pain is ongoing, usually lasting months, such as certain types of arthritis.   The new crackdown does not apply to patients who take prescription painkillers for cancer treatment or to dying patients who are already receiving hospice care.

Second, doctors and dentists need to justify, in writing, why they pain pills are being prescribed. The healthcare professional must provide a specific diagnosis and procedure code for every painkiller prescription they write.

Kasich warned doctors and dentists to fall in line or risk the consequences.  Those who don't obey the new standards will lose their license to practice medicine or dentistry. 

"You're going to have to abide by these rules," he said.

As if that's not enough, Kasich called on ordinary citizens to report doctors or dentists who are prescribing too many pain pills.

"We all need to stick our noses into somebody else's business," he said.

The Ohio Medical Board approves of the change, and noted there are some exceptions.  In a statement, they said, "Health care providers can prescribe opiates in excess of the new limits only if they provide a specific reason in the patient's medical record."