Representative Charles Mc Call
Speaker of the House
Room 401
2300 N. Lincoln Blvd
Oklahoma City, OK 73105
Dear Representative Mc Call,
As president of the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons, I am writing you about a draft bill that would require electronic prescribing (E-Prescribing) of scheduled drugs. Some Oklahoma lawmakers think that more regulation of prescribing will somehow reduce opioid overdoses. The bill would include all scheduled drugs many of which are not abused or diverted.
A draft bill known as 8141, if enacted, would infringe on the rights of citizens to shop for the best price. It has been well documented that prices vary widely and great cost savings can be achieved by price comparison. If the prescription is sent electronically to only one pharmacy, then price shopping is inhibited.
E-precribing increases busy work for physicians by requiring them to drop everything they are doing and log into a computer. In addition, physicians are required to log into another site: the prescription drug monitoring program.
Dr. Jeff Singer in the National Review reports that the “overwhelming majority of opioid overdose victims are not patients receiving pain medicine…only a minority of abusers even obtain prescriptions.
This over-regulation of prescribing is flawed and misguided. It takes away freedom that has always been valued in the United States. Thank you for your attention to this matter. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions. My cell is 920-385-8686
Sincerely,
Albert L. Fisher, M.D.
President of the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons
