On the recordMay 8, 2012
In a devastating trend the Centers for Disease Control is calling a public health epidemic, prescription drug death rates in the United States have more than tripled since 1990. In a strange twist of fate, addictive prescription painkillers are killing our children, causing a lifetime of pain for grief-stricken parents. This week, the parents of Michael David Israel join other parents on Capitol Hill to call for changes to prevent these tragedies. The Centers for Disease Control is recommending the implementation of prescription drug monitoring programs, State-run electronic databases used to track the dispensing of controlled drugs to patients. States must move quickly to implement this technology, and the Federal Government should support this commonsense transition to electronic medical records. Avi and Julie Israel and other parents in Washington this week have shown amazing strength despite unthinkable sorrow. Their pain will never be relieved, but we have an obligation to move quickly to ``Save the Michaels of the World.'' ____________________
