Five New England states have partnered to form an interstate prescription registry to better track the distribution of controlled substances and help prevent patients from collecting prescriptions from multiple physicians without their knowledge, according to a Reuters report.
"People get introduced to a drug and enjoy the use of that product and that, in many cases, leads to doctor or clinic shopping and that shopping doesn't necessarily honor state borders," said Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy (D) in the report.
Connecticut, along with Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire and Rhode Island, will begin sharing prescription data across state lines as well as launch an advertising campaign and collaborate on new prescription guidelines for physicians.
"The problem is no worse in New England than it is in the other states," Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin (D) said in the report. "I think the difference is that we happened to have a group of governors who recognize that this is a crisis that affects all the people we work for every day as governors."
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