For years Florida has been searching for the best solution to the growing problem of prescription drug abuse that now comprises 30% of our illegal drug use and claims the life of approximately 6 Floridians each day. In the past, there was no ideal answer since systems were too expensive, took 35 days to provide information rather than immediately in “real time“, and created privacy and theft identity issues. We now have technology which will do what has been done for years with license testing and other situations requiring secure information….biometric ID for the purchase of Level II-V drugs. HB 143 (Domino) and SB 614 (Aronberg) provide an economical system to pharmacies and dispensing doctors which simply does a biometric scan, gives the scan an ID number without disclosing the name, social security number, driver’s license number, or address of the patient to anyone other than the pharmacist who already has the information. That scan then allows the pharmacist to see immediately if there have been numerous other controlled drug prescriptions already dispensed. It can also assist pharmacists and dispensing doctors in identifying a medication prescribed which will not interact well with others the patient takes. The National Schedules Prescription Electronic Reporting ((NASPER) Act in 2005 provided a framework and incentive for all states to establish an electronic database to monitor the prescription and use of Schedule II, III, IV and V drugs. However, lack of funding and HIPPA privacy issues have hindered the implementation. To date roughly half the states have a monitoring program in place. FLORIDA HAS NOT PASSED A PRESCRIPTION MONITORING BILL DUE TO COST, NO SYSTEM TO ADDRESS THE PROBLEM IN “REAL TIME” PROVIDING THE PHARMACIST/DISPENSING PHYSICIAN IMMEDIATE INFORMATION, AND PRIVACY CONCERNS. HB 145 AND SB ADDRESSES THOSE CONCERNS. HB 143/145 AND SB 614/612 1. The War on Drugs has changed. It was focused on heroin, cocaine & marijuana in the 1980’s. Now 30% of the drug problem involves prescription drugs Prescription drug abuse is rapidly rising to #1. 2. The system uses unalterable biometric data such as fingerprints which are already in frequent use for such events as license testing when privacy and security is needed and to prevent identity theft. The biometric is obtained at the time a controlled substance is dispensed, delivered or administrated to an outpatient. 2. Biometric data, prescription information & notes are sent anonymously using only an identifying ID for the print to a secure server. The patient’s privacy is completely secure. 3. The system analyzes all prescription information associated with each individual’s biometric data. An alert is generated to the pharmacist and the physician if there are changes to the script, there has been over prescribing, the patient is attempting to fill scripts from multiple providers, there are potentially adverse interactions between the various medications a single individual is taking. 4. Pilot programs are currently running successfully at www.bioscriptrx.com