California will join more than 20 states by providing doctors and pharmacies with a secure Web site to track a patient's history of prescription drug use.
California Attorney General Jerry Brown today plans to unveil the online portal that aims to cut down doctor shopping and curb prescription drug abuse by making information more readily available.
The move will enhance the state's prescription drug database that has data on about 100 million drug prescriptions. Under the previous system, doctors and pharmacists had to request information by fax or phone that could take a couple of days.
The attorney general's office currently receives more than 60,000 requests annually for such information.
