A Georgia Senate subcommittee recently advanced a bill that would make physicians criminally liable for not tracking opioid prescriptions, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Senate Bill 81 passed the subcommittee 7-6 on Thursday. The bill would require physicians to register prescriptions for drugs like opioids and benzodiazepines in a state database. If ratified into law, physicians would have six months to learn how to use the database. Beginning July 2018, physicians who "knowingly and intentionally" fail to use the database properly could be charged with a misdemeanor. Certain physicians — like those working in palliative care — would be exempt from the law. The bill is slated to go to the Senate floor. If it passes there, it will then move on to the House.
Though the bill passed the subcommittee, it's been met with stern opposition.
Sen. Ben Watson, Savannah-R, MD, an internal medicine physician, voted against the bill. Dr. Watson told the Journal-Constitution he supports the desire to curb opioid abuse, but doesn't believe physicians should be criminally charged for not using a database.
"If you make a mistake, it should be referred to the [medical] board," said Dr. Watson, since a misdemeanor conviction would cause a physician to lose his hospital privileges.
In 2015, Georgia saw 7.8 million opioid painkiller prescriptions, which amounts to enough prescriptions for every adult in the state, according the Journal-Constitution.
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