In Light Of Growing Overdose Rate And ‘Doctor Shopping’ Incidents, Dr. Mohammad Encourages Addiction Experts And Physicians Everywhere To Be Vigilant About Prescription Monitoring Participation

Malibu, CA – Dr. Akikur Mohammad, Founder of Inspire Malibu, recognized by many as the top addiction treatment center in Malibu, California and Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry and the Behavioral Sciences at the University of Southern California, announced today that he and his team are no longer going to standby as adolescents and adults across the country continue to ‘doctor shop’ and find questionable ways to fill multiple prescriptions for potentially addictive and deadly prescription medication. On the heels of a horrific string of prescription medication overdoses among adolescents in Southern California, Dr. Mohammad is launching an awareness campaign about prescription monitoring programs and the importance of physician compliance.

Drug and alcohol rehab specialist Dr. Mohammad said, “While prescription monitoring programs have been conducted on a state-by-state basis for some time now, there is no effective, unified, national program in place that actively updates information about patient prescription patterns and that is beyond tragic.” Mohammad added, “Not only would a unified, national prescription monitoring program save countless lives, it would act as a system of checks and balances to maintain accountability for both patients and physicians, which would be a game changer. While we understand that addicts will try to manipulate the system, physicians cannot be dissuaded; we must collectively build a system that protects the addicts, holds medical professionals accountable and builds a unified monitoring database.”

Inspire Malibu’s team is launching an awareness campaign designed to inform the community at-large and the medical community about the importance of building and maintaining an effective, national program. Mohammad added, “A national monitoring system is also a way in which patients can keep track of which physicians are participating and how they’re participating in the program. Any physician who is not actively participating in a prescription-monitoring program is suspect in my opinion, and patients deserve to know which physicians are contributing to the problem by not doing their part. A national program will widen the scope and centralize the data but at the end of the day, patients and families can learn a lot about a physician’s true concern for patient welfare by asking a doctor if they participate in a prescription monitoring program; the answer should always be yes!”

For more information about Dr. Akikur Mohammad, addiction treatment and Inspire Malibu’s next town hall event, visithttp://www.inspiremalibu.com.