A Bowling Green doctor says the Kentucky House Speaker should stop pretending he knows what the majority of physicians, nurses, and dentists thinks regarding a prescription drug bill. Dr. Robert Emslie told WKU Public Radio he's concerned about comments made by Speaker Greg Stumbo about doctors' support of a measure that would put the state's prescription pill monitoring program under the control of the Attorney General.
"I do not feel comfortable with the Attorney General's office having access to people's private health care. If this were anybody else other than the state government, this would be a violation of the HIPAA act, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. No one has access like this," said Dr. Emslie, who is a gastroenterologist at Graves-Gilbert Clinic in Bowling Green.
Stumbo says the "vast majority" of physicians in Kentucky support his bill, and blames the lobbying wing of the Kentucky Medical Association for generating opposition to the plan.
But Dr. Emslie says physicians in the Commonwealth have genuine concerns about the bill, which would require all doctors to report to the state every prescription pill order they write.
Dr. Emslie says that would cause a needless mountain of paperwork.
