Van Ingram, Executive Director

Van Ingram is the Executive Director for the Kentucky Office of Drug Control Policy.  Van joined ODCP in November 2004, shortly after it was created with the mission of coordinating Kentucky’s substance abuse efforts in enforcement, treatment and prevention/education.

Van served with the Maysville Kentucky Police Department for more than 23 years, the last six as Chief of Police.  He is a former President of the Kentucky Association of Chiefs of Police, and was named “Kentucky Chief of the Year” in 2001.  He is the 2004 recipient of the Governor’s Award for Outstanding Contribution to Law Enforcement, as well as, the Melvin Shein Award for distinguished service to Kentucky law enforcement.

Van is a certified law enforcement instructor and has trained officers across the state on a variety of topics, including Community Oriented Policing, Interview and Interrogation, and Case Management.

Van is a frequent speaker on a variety of substance abuse issues including prescription drug abuse trends, the emerging synthetic drug problem, methamphetamine, the electronic monitoring PSE sales as well as legislative initiatives concerning substance abuse issues.  Van regularly presents  to numerous groups and national organizations on all these topics. 

Governor Steve Beshear signed into law House Bill 217 on Tuesday, March 5, 2013, which makes some practical improvements to last year's landmark prescription drug abuse legislation. 

House Bill 217 includes the following changes:

•modifies the diagnostic and treatment protocols for controlled substance prescribing, particularly to accommodate patients with acute pain management needs, such as end-stage cancer care;
•allows hospitals and long-term care facilities to have accounts for KASPER, the state’s online prescription drug monitoring program;
•clarifies the educational requirements for certain pain management facility employees;
•clarifies the acceptable qualifications for a physician owner or medical director of a pain management clinic; and
•makes the criminal record check required for licensure of persons prescribing or dispensing controlled substances a law, rather than regulation.

Impacts of HB1:

In the last six months since HB1 took effect, total doses of all controlled substances dropped 10.4 percent from the same time period a year earlier. Prescribed doses of some of the most-abused drugs have also fallen
•Hydrocodone: down 11.8 percent;
•Oxycodone:  down 11.8 percent;
•Oxymorphone (Opana): down 45.5 percent; and
•Alprazolam (Xanax):  down 14.5 percent.

The Office of Inspector General identified 44 facilities as pain management clinics in 2012. Nineteen of them have closed or have discontinued providing pain management services – including 11 that shut down since HB1’s implementation. Another four have received cease and desist letters from the OIG and are in the process of closing.

HB1 expanded the KASPER system, the state’s prescription monitoring system, by requiring all prescription providers of controlled substances to register.  Since implementation, registered accounts have nearly tripled.

Prior to HB1, KASPER provided less than 3,000 reports daily.  Now, providers request approximately 18,000 reports each day.  The vast majority of those reports – 93 percent – are processed in less than fifteen seconds.

Kentucky Board of Medical Licensure 201 KAR 9:260 Summary

KMA Summary of Controlled Substance Regulations

Please click below to view House Bill 1 passed by the 2012 Kentucky General Assembly:

Summary of House Bill 1

HB1 Regulations ~ C. Lloyd Vest II, JD

Opioid Therapy Risk vs. Reward ~ Greg L. Jones, MD

An Update on KASPER - Post House Bill 1 ~ David Hopkins

How to Discuss Drug Issues with a Patient ~ Greg L. Jones, MD

How to Recognize Drug Abuse and Dependence in Patients ~ Greg L. Jones, MD

Join us!
 
The Medicine Abuse Project launched the week of September 23-29, setting the stage for a multi-year effort to raise awareness and curb the abuse of medicine.

Join The Partnership at Drugfree.org and the Partnership for a Drugfree Kentucky to help us prevent a half a million teens from abusing medicine within five years through education and action.

Our Action Plan:
 
Together with parents, teachers, health care professionals, media and state, local and federal government partners, we are leading a national education effort and call to action to:

* Educate about the dangers of abusing prescription and over-the-counter medicines

* Monitor prescriptions and over-the-counter medicines

* Safeguard and properly dispose of unused medication

* Eliminate improper prescribing and dispensing practices

2013 KY-ASAP State Board Meeting Dates: