MPBN radio quotes Kenneth McCall in story on the increase in pharmacy robberies

Maine public (MPBN) radio on Jan. 26, 2011 quoted Kenneth McCall, Pharm.D., associate professor and chair of the UNE Department of Pharmacy Practice, in a story on the five-fold increase in pharmacy robberies the past year in Maine. 

The state's U.S. attorney says they are being fueled by the abuse and diversion of prescription drugs, such as oxycontin. McCall, who is president of the Maine Pharmacy Association, says a recent five-year analysis of prescribing trends in Maine shows a sizeable increase in the use of controlled substances. "In 2006 there were two million prescriptions for controlled substances in Maine that were prescribed by physicians and dispensed by pharmacies, and in 2010 there were 2.5 million - but our state population, obviously, has been relatively flat."

Only about 40 percent of prescribers in Maine are registered in Maine's voluntary Prescription Monitoring Program to track patients' drug histories. McCall told MPBN that he thinks all prescribers should be required to be registered. Listen to the story

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The University of New England is Maine’s largest independent university, with two beautiful coastal campuses in Maine, a one-of-a-kind study abroad campus in Tangier, Morocco, and an array of flexible, accredited online degrees. In an uncommonly welcoming and supportive community, we offer hands-on learning, empowering students to make a positive impact in a world full of challenges. The state’s top provider of health professionals, we are home to Maine’s only medical college, Maine’s only dental college, a variety of other interprofessionally aligned health care degree programs, as well as nationally recognized programs for marine science degrees, natural and social sciences degrees, arts and humanities degrees, and business degrees.