ALBANY – An agreement on a comprehensive prescription drug reform package that will make New York State a national leader in curbing prescription drug abuse was announced Tuesday by Governor Andrew Cuomo, Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos, and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver.

The new law will include a series of provisions to overhaul the way prescription drugs are distributed and tracked in New York State, including enacting a “real time” prescription monitoring registry to provide timely and enhanced information to practitioners and pharmacists; requiring all prescriptions to be electronically transmitted; improving safeguards for the distribution of specific prescription drugs that are prone to abuse; charging a workgroup of stakeholders with the responsibility to help guide the development of medical education courses and other public awareness measures regarding pain management and prescription drugs; and requiring the Department of Health to establish a safe disposal program for unused medications.

"This landmark agreement will help put a stop to the growing number of fatalities resulting from overdoses on prescription drugs," Governor Cuomo said. "We have seen too many untimely deaths as a result of prescription drug abuse, and today New York State is taking the lead in saying enough is enough. I commend Attorney General Schneiderman, Majority Leader Skelos, and Speaker Silver for their hard work in putting together this groundbreaking reform package that will help protect New Yorkers and put an end to prescription drug abuse."

Attorney General Schneiderman said, "This is a major victory for the people of New York. With I-STOP, we will create a national model for smart, coordinated communication between health care providers and pharmacists to better serve patients, stop prescription drug trafficking, and provide treatment to those who need help.”

Illicit use of prescription medicine has become one of the nation’s fastest-growing drug problem. According to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), nearly 15,000 people die every year of overdoses due to prescription painkillers. In 2010, 1 in 20 people in the United States over the age of 11 reported using prescription painkillers for nonmedical reasons in the past year. During the period 1999 through 2008, overdose death rates, sales, and substance abuse treatment admissions related to prescription painkillers all increased substantially. Sales of opioid painkillers quadrupled between 1999 and 2010. Enough opioid painkillers were prescribed in 2010 to medicate every American adult with 5mg of hydrocodone every four hours for a month. Moreover, an estimated 70 percent of people who abuse prescription painkillers obtained them from friends or relatives who originally received the medication from a prescription. The problem is of particular concern with respect to young adults and teens.