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Monroe County Healthcare, Law Enforcement Tackle Rx Drug Abuse

July 15, 2009  Tomah, WI

(Attached Photo: Bradley Dunlap, Special Agent in Charge, Division of Criminal Investigation from the State of Wisconsin Department of Justice)

Healthcare providers and law enforcement officials in Monroe County have taken the first step to combat a growing problem of prescription drug abuse.  A group of more than 60 people-mainly police officers and healthcare professionals from Tomah and Sparta- met face-to-face at the Tomah Holiday Inn Wednesday night to learn more about the issue during an event coordinated by the Tomah Police Department and Tomah Memorial Hospital. 

"The turnout was great, and there were a lot of good questions," Hospital CEO Phil Stuart said of the event. 

Stuart said Wednesday's meeting was held to go below the surface of the problem and allow healthcare professionals and law enforcement personnel to engage in deeper discussion. "I think it (meeting) gave the opportunity for the law enforcement and medical communities to get a perspective from each other's side," he said. 

The problem of prescription drug abuse was first raised when Stuart and Tomah Police Chief Wes Revels discussed plans to hold a Prescription Drug & Unwanted Medication Drop Off, which was held April 22 at the Tomah Police Department. The Earth Day event was an overwhelming success as officials collected a total of 280 pounds of unused prescriptions and unwanted medications from Tomah area residents.  Tomah Police and Tomah Memorial split a $855 bill to properly dispose of the collected meds.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services reports that roughly 6.3 million Americans are currently using prescription drugs for non-medical reasons.

Monroe County District Attorney Dan Cary was one of six people to present information during the 2 ½ hr. event.  He said prescription drug abuse in Monroe County is a "huge problem that's growing". "We have a lot of people who are selling their prescription medications, particularly the heavy-duty narcotics," Cary said. "It's a growing problem and I think we need to address it seriously."  Cary said the issue covers a wide range of people from those in the mid 20's to early 60's. "We see it in all ages and for varying reasons. Some people are addicted and they supply their addition by selling pills to others, (while) others are doing it commercially for profit."

Cary said Wednesday's meeting was a start to combat the diversion of prescription medications, but added that the situation is a difficult one to solve in court due to a "limitation on resources".  "From a law enforcement perspective, these investigations are hundreds of hours; they're labor intensive, it's an incredible amount of work," he said, "and when it gets to my office we're limited in the amount of available prosecutors to handle these cases and review the volumes of paperwork that we receive; make charging decisions , then litigate them through court."  According to statistics provided by Cary, Monroe County charged more than 260 criminal cases involving prescription drugs and non-narcotic substances in the past three years.

Tomah Police Investigator Robert Walensky presented three local cases involving illegal diversion of prescription drugs where individuals forged medication prescriptions or printed fake Rx's. He also told of one case involving a 50 yr. old man who visited clinics in 33 communities during a multi-year "doctor shopping" spree.

Doctor shopping refers to the practice of a patient requesting care from multiple physicians, often simultaneously, without making efforts to coordinate care or informing the physicians of the multiple caregivers. This usually stems from a patient's addiction to certain prescription drugs or other medical treatment.

Walensky said a patient usually will be treated by their regular physician and be prescribed a drug that is necessary for the legitimate treatment of their current medical condition. Some patients will then actively seek out other physicians to obtain more of the same medication, often by faking or exaggerating the extent of their true condition, in order to feed their addiction to that drug. 

Bradley Dunlap, Special Agent in Charge, Division of Criminal Investigation from the State of Wisconsin Department of Justice was impressed by the meeting saying state officials have been working to get healthcare providers and pharmaceutical officials  "to communicate with one another to stop the doctor shopping" which he said for adults is the "biggest method of (drug) diversion".

"Because of the availability of these type(s) of drugs, local law enforcement cannot by itself effectively deal with this situation without collaboration and cooperation between the pharmacies and health care providers," said Dunlap.  He also said state officials are educating parents through radio and television ads about the dangers of prescription drug abuse involving teens. "From the standpoint of the youth in the state, that is the number one way that the kids are getting hold of the controlled substances or the pharmaceutical drugs is through diversion from their parent's medicine cabinets," he explained.

Despite the overwhelming scope of the problem, Gundersen Lutheran Pain Management Director, Dr. Ines  Berger said healthcare providers are doing the "best they can"   while the local healthcare community is working with law enforcement and "making great headway to control the problem".

"The first step for providers is to be knowledgeable, and to know what problems are out there and how they can protect their own practice against drug diversion," she described. 

Stuart promised the issue will be the topic of a future meeting.  "I got a real sense that people want to have more of this and expand it to include others, including parents and school officials," Stuart explained. "I think the next planning session will be how do we actually reach out to more people and start to create an effective strategy now that we've gone through some of the problem areas." 

No date has been set for a future meeting.

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