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Prescribing controlled substances in Tennessee: progress, not perfection
A Spickard1, D Dodd, G L Dixon
1Center for Professional Health, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, and the Tennessee Medical Foundation, Nashville 37232, USA.
Southern Medical Journal
|February 5, 1999
Summary
Tennessee implemented new prescribing guidelines and physician education programs, leading to a significant improvement in its Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) ranking for controlled substance consumption. These initiatives aimed to reduce physician misprescribing and enhance public health.
Area of Science:
- Public Health
- Medical Education
- Substance Abuse Prevention
Background:
- Tennessee historically ranked high in controlled substance consumption.
- Addressing non-criminally motivated physician misprescribing was a key concern.
Purpose of the Study:
- To describe initiatives aimed at reducing physician misprescribing in Tennessee.
- To present changes in Tennessee's Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) rankings.
- To suggest methods for physicians to decrease misprescribing.
Main Methods:
- Collaboration between the Tennessee Board of Medical Examiners (BME) and the Tennessee Physician Health Program (PHP).
- Referral of physicians to a continuing medical education (CME) program at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine.
- Publication of prescribing guidelines by the BME.
Main Results:
- A low recurrence rate of prescribing infractions among CME participants (2 out of over 160).
- Improvement in Tennessee's DEA ranking from 7th to 17th between 1994 and 1997.
Conclusions:
- While causality is unproven, ranking improvements coincided with BME, PHP, and Vanderbilt CME collaborations.
- Ongoing efforts aim to promote professional and patient health in the region.