Holzer Health systems in Gallipolis is hoping a fingerprint collection
program will help it cut down on prescription painkiller abuse.
Board chair Brent Saunders says painkiller fraud costs insurance companies 72 billion dollars a year. Holzer has begun the voluntary collection of fingerprints from patients seeking urgent and emergency room care. Saunders says the confidential information will help flag addicts who try doctor shopping to
obtain painkiller prescriptions for non-medical use. Southern and southeastern Ohio have been hit hard by the prescription painkiller epidemic, with numerous overdoses and fatalities attributed to painkiller addiction.
