Prescription drug addicts who jump between different health services are being targeted by a new $30 million plan to tackle deadly medicine overdoses that claim more lives than road accidents.
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Last year, 330 Victorians died from prescription drug overdoses – more than the road toll – so Health Minister Jill Hennessy is allocating $30 million in Wednesday's state budget to set up real-time prescription monitoring for 1900 GP clinics, 1300 pharmacies and 200 hospitals.
The new system, to be operational by 2018, will allow doctors and pharmacists to identify drug addicts who go "prescription shopping" by visiting different doctors and chemists.
There has been a surge in the number of drug overdose deaths over the past five years, led by addictive medications such as Valium, which has been linked to more drug deaths than illegal narcotics.
In April, The Age reported that last year almost twice as many overdose deaths were linked to legal prescription medication compared with illegal drugs.
The number of drug overdose deaths jumped 8.5 per cent to 420 in 2015, marking the largest single year-on-year increase since 2010, Coroners Court of Victoria data has revealed.
Ms Hennessy said the system had the potential to prevent the deaths of up to 90 Victorians over the next five years.
The government say 21 coronial findings in the past four years had called for the implementation of a Victorian real-time prescription monitoring system.
Ms Hennessy said the program was expected to reduce the number of people taken to emergency departments with overdoses by more than 500 every year, and another 700 people a year referred to counselling.
The government will talk to the sector about what drugs need to be monitored but morphine and oxycodone will be included.
The Pharmacy Guild's Victorian president Anthony Tassone welcomed the system it had pushed for over several years.
The guild was particularly happy that the budget announcement included money for counselling and treatment.
"Pharmacists and doctors are not wanting to be medicine cops, we are here to help provide a broader health solution," Mr Tassone said.
The system also has the backing of the Australian Medical Association – Victorian president Dr Tony Bartone said the system would save lives.
Ms Hennessy said "with more Victorians dying every year from prescription drug overdoses than road accidents, we can't afford to wait any longer to take action".
