President Bush last week signed into law a bill that requires states to establish electronic databases to monitor the distribution of controlled substances in order to curb abuse of prescription medications. The National All Schedules Prescription Electronic Reporting Act of 2005 requires practitioners to report the quantity of medication dispensed, the number of refills, the date the medication was dispensed and the name, address and telephone # of the patient. The law also requires HHS to establish privacy safeguards for those monitored. HHS will also award grants to states to create and improve the reporting and sharing of data with other states. Twenty states currently have database programs in place, including Ohio's, which was signed into law early this Spring.