Compared with other states, Tennessee tops economic development and job growth lists and it makes us quite proud. The country is taking notice: Tennessee is a great place to live, work and raise a family.

But, Tennessee has at least one dubious distinction that we are not so proud of. One of our No. 1 rankings is simply unacceptable.

Our status as the No. 1 state for prescription drug use is not a distinction we strived for. We have the single highest per capita rate of prescription drug use nationally and we are the No. 1 prescribers of narcotics in the country. So it is no surprise that we also rank 47th in health status of our citizens. The accidental poisoning rate in Tennessee is 26 percent above the national average. The statistics are stacking up and the problem is clear. Physicians and others are uniting to fix the problem.

As a physician, it is unacceptable that certain prescribers and pharmacists are enabling new drug seekers to abuse drugs that are so essential to pain management in clinical situations. The FDA has reported that the abuse rate for prescription painkillers has been steadily rising over the past five years while illicit drug use has remained stable.

We have launched an important program in Tennessee that will work to address this problem in a coordinated way. A year ago Tennessee Foundation for Quality Patient Heathcare, a non- profit organization formed by the Tennessee Medical Association created a campaign to combat the problem through better education and the use of new technology.

The Tennessee Prescription Safety Program will allow for communication and education among our state's prescribers, pharmacists and law enforcement. The goal is to curtail misuse and abuse of prescription narcotics while at the same time assure that patients have proper access to pain management.

The program recently began seminars statewide to allow doctors, nurses, pharmacists and dentists to get consistent, up to date training on proper prescribing practices for drugs that have high addictive properties and are most commonly abused. We are developing a technological component that will utilize card swipe technology that will legitimize the prescription process and allow the medical community to be aware of multiple scripts and drug-seeking behavior.

This is a life or death issue both for patients who need these medications and those who are abusing them. The solutions we are implementing will be carefully monitored and reported every step of the way. This program is another effort Tennessee is taking to help stop the misuse and abuse of drugs that are meant to help our citizens when used correctly. We'd like to soon proudly say we are no longer No. 1.

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