MEDICAL EXAMINERS COMMISSION MEETING Sawgrass Marriott Resort & Beach Club 1000 PGA Tour Boulevard Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida August 13, 2008 10:00 AM ISSUE NUMBER 10: ANY OTHER BUSINESS TO COME BEFORE THE COMMISSION Dr. Nelson informed the audience of an email exchange between himself and Mr. Ken Kramer, a researcher for the Citizens Commission for Human Rights of Florida. Mr. Kramer has requested that antipsychotics and antidepressants be added to the drugs tracked in the Drugs in Deceased Persons Report due to their black box death warning labels. He is concerned that there are not any statistics on these types of drugs. Dr. Nelson asked the Commission and audience if antipsychotics and antidepressants should be added to the drugs tracked by the Commission. Dr. Hyma stated his district does collect the data but has not seen more than the occasional death caused by these types of drugs. Dr. Nelson asked the audience if they are seeing a significant number of deaths with antidepressants or antipsychotics in their toxicology results. Dr. Thogmartin said he believed the most of the drugs in the Commission's report were added because they are controlled substances and the use was inappropriate. Antipsychotics and antidepressants are not controlled substances. Dr. Adams said he doesn't believe it is an issue in his district and the drugs tracked are of interest to the Office of Drug Control. Dr. Adams recommended for Mr. Kramer to contact the Office of Drug Control. Dr. Schultz was concerned this method of collecting data will not be sufficient for Mr. Kramer and suggested that death certificate information might be more appropriate. Mr. Jones said Mr. Kramer can request large amounts of information from the Office of Vital Statistics through a data use request. Dr. Nelson concluded the discussion by stating antidepressants and antipsychotics would not be added to the Drugs in Deceased Persons Report as it does not seem to be an issue at this time.
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