Florida's drug tracking database on hold

Florida’s effort to launch a prescription drug database meant to help crack down on “pills mills” and “doctor shopping” may get pushed back until next year.

A bid dispute by rival companies seeking to run the database has put the project on hold for now. And one of the companies in the dispute contends that the winning bidder is unlikely to get the database up and running by the deadline of December 1.

Susan Smith, a spokeswoman for the Florida Department of Health, said on Thursday that the department could not discuss the bid protest but she acknowledged the program is on hold until the dispute is resolved. She said that the plan was to activate the database “as soon as possible after the conclusion of the bid protest.”

The protest is currently scheduled to go before an administrative law judge later this month.

The Republican-led Legislature back in 2009 passed a measure that mandated the creation of the drug database as a way to let doctors and pharmacists track a patient’s prescription history. The measure was passed in response to reports that South Florida had become a haven for pill mills.

The state solicited bids this past summer to run the database – which is being funded through grants and donations and not state money. But Ohio-based Optimum Technology in August filed a challenge to a decision by the department to award the database contract to Health Information Design.

Optimum in court filings has said that DOH scored the bids wrong, including failing to give Optimum enough credit for turning in a bid that was cheaper than the winning company. Optimum said it could run the database for $299,000 a year while Health Information Design put in a bid for more than $464,000.

Optimum also contended that it deserved a higher score because it would complete the project by December, while Health Information Design will not finish the project until March. Health Information Design has filed its own court filings where it disputes Optimum’s assertions.

The database is supposed to help Florida keep track of controlled substances designated as Schedule II, III and IV drugs, which includes drugs such as codeine, methadone, amphetamines, anabolic steroids and ketamine.

But some critics contend that the law that created the database has too many loopholes since the new law gives physicians, health care providers and pharmacists up to 15 days to report that certain drugs were dispensed to a patient.

The creation of the database last year also came under fire from several conservative legislators who asked pushed Gov. Charlie Crist to block its creation. They contended the database would allow sensitive information to wind up in the hands of criminals and terrorists.

The state has been raising private donations to help pay for the database and just last week announced that more than $500,000 has been raised to pay for the project.