Re: Breaking: Anna Nicole Smith is DEAD
I like how 4625 is most concerned with funding the project and hoping he'll make oney off law suits if it ever was put into use. You have a hard on just thinking about it, huh? Seriously, go see the wizard for a heart, dude.
No, I'm actually more concerned with another well-intentioned nanny-state boondoggle that will enable the government to accrue more power. Who pays for a particular government mandate is always the first question that should be asked. Is there going to be a general tax increase, or will there by some sort of fee assessed against prescriptions, or will doctors be required to pay some sort of subscription fee (which would of course be passed on to the patients)?
Secondly, because Americans loves them some penalties, how would access and information disclosure violations be penalized? Are we going to manufacture another criminal offense? We already lock up a higher percentage of our fellow citizens than any other Western nation.
What about the legitimate concerns regarding privacy which many people hold dear? Are we all to submit our medications history to a government database in order to comply with a safety program of dubious effectiveness? The government has shown repeatedly that it doesn't know how to properly safeguard our most sensitive and critical records. What make anyone believe that the integrity of this database would be any different?
As for the effectiveness of the database, the accuracy would necessarily depend on the level of compliance demonstrated by those charged with reporting filled prescriptions (pharmacists?). What is the motivation for compliance? Fees? Fines? Criminal Charges? The databases now administrated by the government are rife with errors, what makes anyone believe that this one would be different? What happens when a particular drug is prescribed as a result of an erroneous entry in the database? Imagine the ramifications; who's liable? The prescribing doctor; the person who entered the incorrect data; the government?
How effective would such a database be against the perceived harm? I assume the harm is the ability of persons to horde meds by obtaining prescriptions from multiple doctors. How effective would such a database be against this perceived harm? Are people able to obtain meds now without a prescription? How would the database change the ready availability of prescription meds through irregular channels such as exists now?
Finally, if I were considering my ability to make money off of such a boondoggle, I would be arguing in favor of the database, wouldn't I? I don't think anyone could be unclear as to where I fall on the necessity of such a database.
In the overall analysis, the hoped-for upside to such a database does not even come close to outweighing the very real and concrete downside. Our government cannot be used to ensure absolute safety from cradle to grave for all persons at the expense of everyone else. Additionally, the Smith case itself demonstrates that we already have a form of protection against the perceived harm. I understand that her doctors and the person who assisted in obtaining some of the meds through illegal means are facing criminal prosecution. Though the current system is not perfect, it is not so ineffective that the seachange represented by your proposed database is necessary.