FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 12, 2016
Contact: James Hallinan (505) 660-2216
Prescribers need to know if patients are getting narcotics from other health providers
Albuquerque, NM – Attorney General Hector Balderas and 32 other attorneys general sent a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell urging the federal government to require methadone clinics to register, to query and to fully use Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs. New Mexico prescribers need to know if patients are getting narcotics from other health providers in order to screen out drug seekers and refer them to substance abuse treatment instead of giving them more opioids or benzodiazepines. New Mexico has some of the highest rates of opioid addiction and abuse in the nation.
“Opioid addiction is devastating children, families and communities around New Mexico so we must work together to ensure doctors and prescribers have the right information to prevent abuse,” said Attorney General Balderas. “The federal government must act so doctors can screen out drug seekers and get those struggling with addiction the treatment they need.”
See attached for a copy of the letter to Secretary Burwell.
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