The Florida PDMP Foundation, Inc.

Stop Prescription Drug Overdose – Help Fund the Florida PDMP

The Foundation serves to save lives – the lives of students, the lives of parents, the lives of friends and families, the lives of our next-door neighbors and the lives of the citizens in our community – by fundraising for the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PDMP).

The Prescription Drug Epidemic

Prescription drug abuse has achieved epidemic proportions in the U.S. during the past decade. Florida is the epicenter for diverted controlled prescription drugs. Not only Floridians but also out-of-state drug seekers flock to Florida to get these still easily obtained controlled substances; indeed, so prevalent is this phenomenon that it has been labeled the “Flamingo Express.” As of September 2009, 25 of the top 50 dispensing practitioners of oxycodone nationwide were located in Broward County. Another 24 (for a total of 49 of the 50) of these top oxycodone dispensing practitioners were located in the West and Central areas of Florida.

These dispensing physicians typically work in “pill mills” that prescribe and/or dispense pain relievers with at best a cursory exam to people who often see multiple physicians for the same “ailment.” These “doctor shoppers” will hide the fact that another physician prescribed them the same medicine, which is a felony offense. A “pill mill” is a doctor’s office, clinic or health care facility that routinely colludes in the prescribing and dispensing of controlled substances outside the scope of the prevailing standards of medical practice in the community or violates the laws of the State of Florida regarding the prescribing or dispensing of controlled prescription drugs.

Note: All pain management clinics are not pill mills, but pill mills often represent themselves as pain management clinics, i.e., pain management is a legitimate medical practice subverted by a small number of medical practitioners for illegal and unprofessional purposes.

The 2009 Florida Medical Examiner’s Report provides that nearly seven Floridians are lost every day to prescription drug overdoses. Deaths attributed to prescription drug overdoses have doubled since 2003—1,234 to 2,488. This is five times the amount of deaths for all illegal drugs combined, and almost equal to the number of Florida traffic fatalities in 2009. The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles reported that there has been a 19% increase in DUI-drugged crashes. Meanwhile, treatment episodes for prescription opiates are up over 450% since 1999, with the Department of Children and Families reporting an increase of 409% in substance abuse treatment admissions for prescription drug abuse since 2001.

In short, $15 billion is the estimated economic cost of prescription drug abuse and diversion shouldered by Floridians in 2009.

Statutory Authorization for the Foundation: Section 893.055, Florida Statutes

The Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PDMP) was passed during the 2009 legislative session in an effort to stop prescription drug abuse and diversion in Florida. Governor Charlie Crist signed SB 462 into law on June 18, 2009, providing Florida with the ability to improve patient standard of care and reduce controlled prescription drug abuse and diversion. This section also authorizes the establishment of the PDMP Foundation for the benefit of the PDMP to help implement the database and sustain its continuing operations. It is a 501(c)(3), pending IRS approval, non-profit organization incorporated with the Department of State.