University of Central Oklahoma
THEVISTA The Student Voice Since 1903
MAR 11, 2014
PILL POPPING PREVENTION
State of Oklahoma makes efforts to curb prescription drug abuse Tyler Talley
Staff Writer
According to the PMP, prescriptions were issued to 142,369 patients in 2013, which contributes to the abuse of pain killers among college students. Photo by Aliki Dyer.
Oklahoma pharmacies filled nearly 10 million prescriptions for painkillers and other controlled substances last year, according to Oklahoma Watch. Warren Veith of Oklahoma Watch, a nonpartisan journalism service, stated that the state’s Prescription Monitoring Program (PMP) accounted for 597 million doses of painkillers, tranquilizers, sleeping pills, steroids and a number of other controlled pharmaceuticals. These prescriptions reach an average of about 68 per patient and include refills. There are over three million people in the state, according to the United States Census Bureau. While a good portion of PMP’s statistics represent patients using the drugs for genuine conditions and illnesses, such a high number point to a rapidly growing epidemic in the state. According to the PMP, prescriptions were issued to 142,369 patients in 2013, which were written by 12,096 doctors, osteopaths, dentists and other medical professionals. Of those professionals, 3,529 registered prescribers ran checks through the PMP. Oklahoma pharmacists are required by law to enter data for every controlled drug prescription within five minutes of filling it, whereas doctors and other practitioners do not and often do not, with the exception of hydrocodone. The prescriber participation in the PMP system is de-
signed to deter “doctor shopping,” which refers to the practice of patients requesting care from more than one physician, often simultaneously and without making efforts to inform the physicians. The system allows caregivers the chance to see every narcotic prescription filled by a patient during the preceding 12 months, and flag patients who seek out multiple prescriptions for narcotic drugs from multiple physicians. However, state law does not require pharmacists to review any given patient’s prescribing history before filling an order. To check a patient’s history, the pharmacist requires a different computer login process than entering prescription data. If they do review a patient’s history and find any discrepancies, they have the authority to refuse to fill the prescription, alert the prescribing physician or contact authorities. The top prescriptions and overdose contributors, according to the PMP lists, are three popular pharmaceuticals: hydrocodone, which is an opioid painkiller and sold under brand names such as Lortab and Vicodin; oxycodone, another opioid painkiller sold as OxyCotin and Percocet, and the anti-anxiety drug, alprazolam, which is marketed as Xanax. Veith added that the statistics also showed that many medical professionals write or refill prescriptions before reviewing the PMP’s online database. Under the current Oklahoma law, they are not required to do so. See PAIN KILLERS on Page 4
Oklahoma ‘Anti- RadioShack to close more than Science’ Bill to a thousand stores nationwide face the Senate Sean Tolbert
Contributing Writer Oklahoma State HB 1674 passed through the Oklahoma House of Representatives on March 3 after an overwhelming 79-6 vote. The bill, referred to by critics as an “Anti-Science” piece of legislation, would seek to “assist” teachers in educating students on topics they “may be unsure of how to teach,” regarding specific topics including evolution, global climate change and cloning. One of the key points of the bill states: “Neither the State Board of Education, nor any school district board of education, school district superintendent or school principal shall prohibit any teacher in a public school district in this state from helping students understand, analyze, critique and review in an objective manner the scientific strengths and weaknesses of
existing scientific theories.” University of Central Oklahoma Biology Professor, Sigma Xi Honor Society Chapter Secretary/Treasurer and Genome Registry Vice-President Dr. James E. Bidlack, Ph. D said that this bill looks to be a more tempered approach to legislation that has been submitted to the state congress before; however, it has the potential to create a slippery slope. “…It sounds almost as if they are supporting more open discussion in the classroom—and that could be a good thing,” Bidlack said. “However, some teachers may interpret this as encouragement to discuss their religious beliefs in the classroom and that’s not a good idea – especially if students are forced to believe in something that is not supported by measurable data.” See HOUSE BILL on Page 4
In this Wednesday, Oct. 20, 2010 photo, a shopper leaves a RadioShack store in Brunswick, Maine. Electronics retailer RadioShack Corp. on Tuesday, March 4, 2014 said it plans to close up to 1,100 of its underperforming stores in the U.S. and reported a wider loss for its fourth quarter as traffic slowed during the critical holiday season. (AP Photo/Pat Wellenbach, File)
Kanesha Brown
Staff Writer After the company lost $400 million in the last year, RadioShack said
they would be closing 1,110 of their underperforming stores in the U.S. According to the company’s new release, the stores were selected “based on the location, area demographics, lease life and financial performance.”
Analyst Scott Tilghman estimated that 5,000 to 10,000 employees will be affected from the store closings. Some workers will get the opportunity to move to other locations. See RADIOSHACK on Page 4