Ohio Plans Crackdown on Emergency Room Prescribing

Ohio Gov. John Kasich is announcing plans to limit the prescribing of painkillers through the state’s hospital emergency rooms.

Administration officials believe pain pills are being overprescribed by emergency room doctors and that the numbers need to be reduced.

The state’s Emergency Room Protocols will recommend against prescribing pills for chronic pain and encourage ER doctors to check the statewide prescription database and to be on the lookout for fake IDs.

Ohio saw a record number of drug overdose deaths in the most recent reporting year of 2010. Such overdoses are now the leading cause of accidental death in the state.

Kasich and his health, aging and drug addiction department directors are making the announcement Monday at a two-day summit on prescription painkiller abuse in Columbus.