In opposing the establishment of a desperately needed statewide prescription drug database that would reduce crime and save lives, Gov. Rick Scott has cited misguided, ill-informed and unfounded privacy concerns for patient confidentiality. Yet the governor has no problem calling for mandatory drug tests and random drug screens for as many as 100,000 innocent state workers while invading their privacy at a cost of millions of dollars. The lack of intellectual honesty here is remarkable.
Florida has become a laughingstock for its dubious reputation as the "pill mill" capital of the nation, with more than 2,000 lives lost every year through the illegal dispensation of prescription drugs such as oxycodone and Xanax. A prescription drug database, paid for by the drug companies themselves, would go a long way toward addressing the problem by making it more difficult for patients to doctor shop for their drugs. It also would make it easier to crack down on unscrupulous physicians who prescribe the drugs without regard to their medical need. But Scott remains opposed to this lifesaving program.
If all of the governor's drug-testing plans come to pass, the drug screening business in Florida should be booming. So Floridians should not forget that Scott founded Solantic, a chain of walk-in health care clinics, and has placed his ownership into his wife's trust. Solantic promotes its drug screen testing services on its website.
A poster yesterday was talking about consistency...this is beyond understanding.
A family member who has mostly voted Republican asked me yesterday: "Why does Governor Scott hate teachers and state employees so much?" It is a good question. I wonder what his answer is...
