ABC News: Government Has Federal Database of Medication Use?

ABC News: Government Has Federal Database of Medication Use?

www.abcnews.go.com

Some news accounts have suggested that Cho had a history of antidepressant use, but senior federal officials tell ABC News that they can find no record of such medication in the government's files. This does not completely rule out prescription drug use, including samples from a physician, drugs obtained through illegal Internet sources, or a gap in the federal database, but the sources say theirs is a reasonably complete search.

(visit the link for the full news article)

This is taken out of an article from ABC news and points out that the Federal Government apparently has a database of medications either that Cho used or everyone in the United States uses.

Why would the government have a federal database keeping tabs on what medications we take?

Note: No other links are provided due to the fact that ABC News is the only one to mention this.

www.abcnews.go.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

Good question.....why do they have files on what prescriptions who takes? Scary thought

Originally posted by elderban

Why would the government have a federal database keeping tabs on what medications we take?

Good question.

Such "monitoring" generally scares the poop outta me. The potential for abuse is enormous.

BUT.

It now is known that most Americans have a variety of latent infections that can be reactivated by a variety of exposures including to drugs and radiation, for example. Reactivation of latent infections often results in mutation and the creation of "new" disease, like cancer.

The only way to track latent diseases evolution is by epidemiological analysis of such records. Government and private insurance corporations are the only agencies with the power to keep such records, and to analyze them.

Medical insurance companies do NOT share such information or analysis - called actuarial reports. Industry studies are used to determine rates and the terms of coverage - not to benefit public health.

...So despite the potential for abuse - it could be a good thing for governement to keep a national database that tracks the links between medication use and later disease.


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Not sure about keeping a database on EVERY prescription drug that is prescribed. The volume would simply be enormous. And, unless I am mistaken such a database would violate the Federal HIPPA laws if people were mentioned by name.

Now scheduled medications like Morphine, demerol, valium, some anto depressants require that the prescribing MD furnish a DEA number. That would make it wasy to track those medications and that would make most sence as they have the greatest potential for abuse. But again, It may be a HIPPA violation.

Very interesting post.

Would the everyday person, unlike Cho who has been in trouble, have such a federal file on his/her medications?

The way I see it, there is a big plan to have the population drugged in some manner. All you have to do is turn on the tv to see this.

You may be onto something.

Let's pull the "string" that's sticking out and see where it leads.

Troy

From what I've found, the closest thing is NASPER, which tracks only controlled substance prescriptions and not every state is a participant.

Antidepressants are generally not controlled substances and wouldn't be tracked by this, so I have no idea what the ABC reporter was getting this from. It is interesting...