Atlanta — A bill that aims to help doctors and pharmacists curtail the abuse of illegally prescribed drugs in Georgia and aid law enforcement by improving their technological capabilities was introduced Monday at the state Capitol .

State Sen. Buddy Carter, R-Pooler, authored the “Patient Safety Act of 2011,” which would create an electronic database of all controlled substance prescriptions dispensed in Georgia.

The database would be accessible only to medication prescribers and dispensers for their own patients or law enforcement if they are investigating an open case, which would require a subpoena for access.

“Georgia is one of only 10 states in the nation without a database proposed in the Patient Safety Act,” Carter said, a 30-year pharmacist and pharmacy owner. “With every state surrounding Georgia having a system to crack down on prescription drug abuse, many of these fly-by-night store front as pain clinics, and drug abusers are taking refuge in our state because we have no method to track this illegal activity

“Pharmacies are filling prescriptions for this influx of abusers who, in turn, are draining the supply for regular patients who have legitimate medical problems – in some cases terminal illnesses. Clearly our state has a growing epidemic and we need to address it now by finally providing physicians, pharmacists and law enforcement the right tools to crack down on illegal pill mills and drug abuse.”

For more, pick up a copy of the Feb. 2 edition of the News.