Will a new nationwide database reduce an 'epidemic' of prescription drug abuse?

The Omnibus Appropriations Act of 2009 included funding for The National All Schedules Prescription Reporting (NASPER) law, which passed in 2005 and was intended to coordinate prescription drug monitoring in all 50 states.

There will likely be many welcome -- and perhaps some unwelcome -- side-effects that result from the creation of this new database. Patients, doctors, as well as the pharmaceutical industry should take notice now that the law is being implemented.

One of the prime movers in the bill's passage was the American Society of Interventional Pain Physicians. I recently had the opportunity to interview Dr. Laxmaiah Manchikanti, CEO and chairman of that group.