Cheyenne Regional Medical Center has launched a new program to crack down on prescription drug abuse in the emergency room.
Fatal prescription drug overdoses have more than tripled in Wyoming since 1999.
The state does have a database system that allows doctors to look up the prescription history of suspicious patients, but emergency room doctors don’t always have the time to go through that process, said Cheyenne Regional Emergency Room Director Tracy Garcia
“When have fifteen people waiting I want to get in, find out what’s going on with you and get your care started right away. So that you feel better and I can move on to the next patient.”
Now a board of doctors and administrators will meet monthly at Cheyenne Regional to decide if a patient’s emergency room behavior constitutes abuse. If the patient is flagged as abusive, the hospital sends out a certified letter telling them they won’t get prescription painkillers for anything other than a dire emergency. The patient’s primary care doctor will also get a letter from the hospital.
The program launched in April. Garcia says the hospital sent out around 15 certified letters after its first meeting.
