By Alabama Public Radio
Montgomery, AL – Alabama will have an online medical monitoring system by early next year. It will be designed to stop people from going to different doctors to get prescriptions for addictive pain medications. State Health Officer Don Williamson says the state's program will be paid for partly through a new fee. A ten-dollar charge would be added to the fee that doctors, dentists and veterinarians pay for the license allowing them to prescribe controlled substances. The state also will use 700-thousand dollars in federal grants. State Senator Larry Dixon is executive director of the Alabama Board of Medical Examiners. He says the program would not prevent or delay certain patients from getting the medication they need.