Gov. Markell Prescribes Big Brother
Apr 3rd, 2010 by Timothy Pancoast
I woke up and opened my Dover Post, and right there on page 8, I see Big Brother getting a prescription for another set of eyes to watch us with. Okay that was a little bit overdramatic, but honestly after the year long health care debate this seems like the government just kicking its subjects while they are down. One of the objections to the massive health care takeover bill that was often overlooked is the fact that it enables the government to collect massive amounts of personal medical data on the citizens. It is about data collection, and if as the G.I. Joe quote goes, “knowing is half the battle”, then guess who has won once these collection and monitoring programs go into place. It won’t be the citizens, because we will have a huge information deficit.
Here is the deal, on March 25th Governor Markell proposed a plan to create a statewide database for monitoring our prescription drugs. It is “aimed at preventing ‘doctor shopping’ for drugs” according to the Markell Office press release. Additionally other states are implementing similar programs and they will be eventually linked. The database would be established by the State Office of Controlled Substances. Doctors would have access to it and penalties would be attached for unauthorized access and misuse of the information.
This is also about receiving more federal dollars as it could provide the state with an extra $800,000. Keep in mind that just like the Race to the Top program for schools; this is a top down program. It was discussed by Sen. Carper and his Senate sub-committee last year in a hearing about Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs. Now it is being pushed down through the states. Once again we see the states being used as figure heads and administrative arms of the Federal Government rather than governments of their own. The more Governors puppet the federal government in order to receive federal funds, the less relevant and meaningful the states become. Thus the state governments are silently absorbed into the federal.
If you haven’t guessed, I don’t like the proposed program. It is a fairly invasive law enforcement tool, yet it requires no warrant. If you opposed the Patriot Act because of warrantless wiretapping and monitoring public library activity than this newly proposed program should at least make you pause and question what our government is doing here. Are we all now under investigation, are we all suspects? That is what it looks like to me.
This is also about receiving more federal dollars as it could provide the state with an extra $800,000. Keep in mind that just like the Race to the Top program for schools; this is a top down program. It was discussed by Sen. Carper and his Senate sub-committee last year in a hearing about Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs. Now it is being pushed down through the states. Once again we see the states being used as figure heads and administrative arms of the Federal Government rather than governments of their own. The more Governors puppet the federal government in order to receive federal funds, the less relevant and meaningful the states become. Thus the state governments are silently absorbed into the federal.
I should also point out that just like with efforts to curb gun violence by preventing citizens from owning guns, this targets the law abiding citizens, not the law breakers. Even in the press release the Governor identifies robberies and burglaries of pharmacies, two things that this program will have no influence over, as part of the motivation for it.
I want to close with what I think lies at the core of the problem. When we fail to self govern the Government finds excuses to exceed its Constitutional Mandate. People abusing prescription drugs are not governing themselves. The doctors and pharmacists are failing to govern their professions. If private citizens and the medical profession had governed themselves then when Gov. Markell proposed this new program it would be so unreasonable that no one would have accepted it. As it is the Delaware Medical Society has basically rubber stamped the legislation even though it hasn’t been written yet. It is a silent admission that all too often the profession has failed to safeguard against addiction, and now, at least some, want to give up and let the government take charge.
So when the legislation is crafted I will have one question for my Senator, “Big Brother” Bushweller. Can I get an ankle monitor with that prescription?
Update: I was talking to a friend of mine that is in the medical profession and she said that we do need to do something because doctor shopping and addiction are serious problems that affect all patients. She indicated that she sees it happening at least 5 or six times a day. So I asked her how nurses and doctors are able to spot all of these people doctor shopping, and if they already know who these people are, why do we need the government to create this data gathering operation?
Her answer is that even though the doctors know what is going on it would be a violation of HIPPA (not to mention your standard doctor patient privilege) if they reported it.
So what I gather is that in order to get the information about the bad apples that are doctor shoping without violating their rights under HIPPA, the government’s solution is to institutionalize the violation of everyone’s HIPPA rights. Brilliant!
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Tim Pancoast, DelawarePolitics.net. DelawarePolitics.net said: Gov. Markell Prescribes Big Brother: I woke up and opened my Dover Post, and right there on page 8, I see Big Brot… http://bit.ly/b9mBlw [...]
Tim, good points. We can be fairly sure that doctor shopping is at the bottom of the list for why government wants access to our medical records. In my opinion the real benefit for government has to do with the health care law and the public option. Government will now know everything about you, is your blood pressure a little high or maybe your cholesterol. Now they will also have access to you bank acount and for all we know your debit card use,i.e. where you eat. I’m sure you can see where I’m going with this.
With all of this imformation the government will determine whether you are living a “HEALTHY” life style and if not in the eyes of some government “EXPERT”, then you will pay more for you public option health care. And of course as the new health care law takes more effect and private insurance becomes too expencive, more and more people will be on the public option.
I am beginning to fear that in the elections of 06 and 08 the American voters may have given up our last vestige of freedom.
In the battle of free citizens vs. the government’s drug war, this is yet another step backward.
The prescriptions that would be listed in the database do not back up Markell’s claim that it would be used to target abusers of oxycodone, for example. Even diet medications would be included. Do we really need a website (which will eventually be hacked) listing every user of diet medication in the state?
One of Obama’s high profile appointees had to withdraw his nomination because He (then an FBI agent) use the background check system to “check out” his ex-wife’s new boyfriend. (during the campaign, a couple of cops lost their jobs for searching for Obama records)
but don’t worry, I’m sure the new system won’t be abused.
Not at all. The Golden Forehead and his lackeys like Bushsmeller or the army of state workers are all beyond reproach.
Welcome to your brave new world comrades – - the groundwork phase.
No kidding that brave new world is being built on the crushed liberties of its citizens. Time to call off construction.
I sort of understand the ‘good’ intentions by the Governor but in the end it will matter little.
By way of personal story when my Father died in 2004 he was seeing many Doctors and taking many medications with none of the other Doctors knowing. After his death I inquired with three of the Dr’s how such a nightmare could happen and his cardiologist put it plainly. “Without a huge government bureaucracy watching every medical event, there is little we can do unless we want to disregard HIPAA protections.”
In order to monitor what we do we have to violate personal privacy.
Mike Protack
“In order to monitor what we do we have to violate personal privacy.” – Mike Protack
I am not sure if I totally agree with that position. However, for the sake of discussion we can use it as a starting point. Now the question becomes who do we want violating our privacy, and on what scale.
Do you prefer a violation between the doctors involved in treating you?
Do you prefer the whole state having access to your private medical information, or do you prefer the whole nation to have access?
The fact is that if we go with the Markell plan it is only a matter of time before your medical history will be available without necessity of warrant to law enforcement and other government bodies around the nation. That is not what I want.
As to the cardiologist’s statement, it is my opinion that the huge government bureaucracy would be a violation of HIPPA on a massive scale. I think that we are looking at this problem all wrong. That is why the experts have limited us to just two choices; chaos or an invasive government program. The real solution is still out there but the government would rather not have us look beyond their program.
I hate to spoil the government’s solution looking for a problem. Let people have access to safe legal drugs as opposed to unsafe illegal ones. It is not the business of government to determine if you are in pain or faking. We are making people suffer inhumanly in order to feel good about ourselves. It is morally wrong.
FYI, it’s HIPAA, not HIPPA.
Let us not forget, as with every policy that grows government’s intrusion into our personal lives, this policy robs us of one more personal choice. The federal health care law robs us of the choice whether to have or not to have health insurance, it will soon rob us of where we will be able to buy the required insurance, and this data base of medical history will rob us of the choice of who knows our business. When we buy insurance from private providers they have access to our information, why ? Because we give it to them when we sign the contract by choice. If we feel that they have abused that privaledge we can seek protection through the courts and also change companies.
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to understand that if the government is the one abusing the privaledge, we will have no avenue of recourse. And in a very short time we will have no option other than the public option for where to buy our insurance.
As technology advances, the state will monitor virtually everything. This does not bode well for the future, unless you’re a Socialist-Democrat, of course.
State to the Socialist-Democrat:“Now, Slip-On that Nose-Ring, Boy”
Well said Rick.
“Without a huge government bureaucracy watching every medical event, there is little we can do unless we want to disregard HIPAA protections.”
In order to monitor what we do we have to violate personal privacy.
Mike Protack
I know this was relayed to Mike P. but this is totally wrong. I too had to help monitor medications as a primary care giver for a relative under hospice care. I was given considerable leeway by the physicians to restrucure a medication regimen. In many cases medications cause certain side effects and then another medication is used to treat the side effects which has its own side effects and the cycle goes on and on. I don’t believe we need a state beauracracy to monitor all of us to do this. I was able to do this with the help of a good physician, pharmacist, and a Physician’s Desk Reference. I am not a trained medical professional. I am a layman who is capable of reading and learning from qualified professionals. If I could do this for a relative so can anyone else. Does it take time and effort. Without a doubt. Do I think I am a better judge of what should work for a loved one than an overbearing State Government. Without a doubt.
The bland assumption that the government can do this better than the rest of us is not only a lie, it is the first step to the road to serfdom.
OK… Must mean a major snowstorm is April is coming as I agree with Tim for once
I’d agree that if you were against the intrusiveness of the Patriot Act, you should be against this.
Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.
If a snow storm in April is all it takes, maybe a blizzard in May would bring world peace.
If this becomes law, will we be able to look up which of our elected representatives are taking E.D. medication?
None of them, unless you are a doctor, a pharmacist, or work in government. Of course if a government employee looses their laptop then who knows what could happen.
That’s baloney about invoking any HIPAA violation in any of this suspected doctor shopping/prescription fraud.
You want violations? Just go ahead w/ your computer generated websites. And here’s a warning to all patients—don’t count on my healthcare provider relatives w/ prescriptive authority to EVER help you out, when:
1) You’re on vacation and brought the wrong bottle
2) You stayed longer at your daughter’s in Michigan and ran out…
3) It’s Saturday, and you just realized there are no refills…
4) It’s Thanksgiving Day…the provider met you on his doorstep, examined the problem, and would be most agreeable to give you a prescription for that antibiotic….
Need I go on……
Because, accessing this computer based ideaology is going a bit too far for overhaul in the prescriptive department. The little pad travels well for doctors who know their patients. You can’t expect he/she to drop and find some portal to create the document. And what about interstate interface?
We are 100 miles long and 30 miles wide–preparing to include those border states that patients derive from also?
At any time these providers have access to what other meds a patient is on–and some insurances routinely send compilations on some folks. This was started as a Medicaid initiative for the state for tracking—and you can see now where this is going. Do not just roll over on this one.
Thanks for the input Joanne. I figured that the whole thing is based on an exagerated dilema that could be solved far easier if people were actually trying to curb the doctor shopping of addicts rather than increase the power and scope of government. It is a case where the cure could be worse for Delaware than the original problem, because it isn’t actually a cure.