U.S. lawmakers on Thursday called for better government oversight of
legal but potentially addictive prescription drugs, including
painkillers, stimulants and sedatives.

Democrats and Republicans said more monitoring programs are needed
to track sought-after drugs that are easily obtained through
prescription forgery, corrupt physicians, and patients switching
from one doctor to another collecting prescriptions.

There is no "program in existence today that is doing everything
that needs to be done" to monitor abuse, Kentucky Republican Rep. Ed
Whitfield said at a House of Representatives Energy and Commerce
subcommittee.

About 6.2 million Americans abused prescription drugs in 2002, and
emergency room visits related to abuse of narcotic pain relievers
have increased 163 percent since 1995, according to the Substance
Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

While lawmakers agreed monitoring was needed, there was no consensus
on whether it should be federal or state-based, or whether federal
guidelines would dictate requirements for states to follow.

According to the Drug Enforcement Agency, 22 states have drug
monitoring programs.

Marcia Crosse, director of health care for the General Accounting
Office, said state programs successfully deter patients who "doctor
shop," or visit a number of physicians to gather more prescriptions.

But state programs also vary in the types of drugs they cover and
whether health or law enforcement agencies administer the programs,
Crosse said.

Some lawmakers said such discrepancies and the ease of crossing
state borders make federal oversight necessary.

Prescription drug abuse is "a national problem that cannot be
effectively addressed...on a state-by-state basis," said Rep. Frank
Pallone, a New Jersey Democrat.

Two bipartisan bills introduced in the House this week aim to curb
such misuse.

One would provide federal grants for states to set up monitoring
programs and require the certification of online pharmacies. Another
would prohibit Web-based pharmacies from accepting prescriptions
from doctors who have not seen patients in person.

But physician and pharmacy groups, as well as patient advocates, say
monitoring systems can make it harder for people suffering from
legitimate pain to get treatment.

"That can have a chilling effect," said American Pharmacies
Association Vice President Susan Winckler. "There's this balancing
act to make sure it's a well-constructed program."

The Bush administration this week announced a new effort to combat
prescription abuse through physician education and by targeting
illegal Web pharmacies.