Legislation

Would you want to know if your doctor was in addiction treatment and failed a drug test? Shouldn't he have to tell the hospital he works at? What about the state Medical Board responsible for disciplining physicians who place patients at risk?

The California Medical Association should get over its reactionary opposition to reform that would curb the prescription opioid and heroin overdose epidemic.

Yesterday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued new painkiller prescription guidelines recommending that doctors check state prescription drug databases before prescribing opioids to a patient. This simple tool has been proven to reduce overprescribing, but only when doctors are required to use it.

The California Medical Board had one job to do when it came to protecting patients from doctors on probation: Make it easier for patients to know. The Board failed, and now state Senator Jerry Hill is trying to rectify that error by proposing legislation.