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COLUMBUS, Ohio — The trade group representing Ohio doctors says it’s “likely to oppose” a legislative proposal that would require physicians to check a statewide database before prescribing narcotics to patients.

Viewing it as a means of combating prescription-drug abuse, The Buckeye State Sheriffs’ Association is a key backer of the yet-to-be-written proposal and is working with lawmakers and the Ohio Board of Pharmacy to craft its language, the Plain Dealer reports.

However, they look likely to face opposition from the Ohio State Medical Association, which represents 20,000 physicians, residents, medical students and medical practice managers in the state. Jason Koma, a spokesman for the OSMA, said checking the database would increase the administrative burden on physicians, who are already struggling under the weight of bureaucratic red tape from insurance companies and the government.

“It adds another layer of rules and regulations to the practice of medicine,” Koma said. “That may or may not be the best way to achieve the desired goal [of reducing prescription-drug abuse]. That’s not the same as saying we don’t feel that there are concerns with this. We’re dedicated to fixing this problem.”

Ohio already is one of 34 states that have a database of prescription drug information that’s available to authorized users, such as physicians, nurses, dentists and other prescribers. The problem is not enough prescribers are using it — only 5,500 users have registered out of 42,000 doctors and dentists in the state, the Plain Dealer reports. The pharmacy board administers the database.

While the OSMA likely won’t support a law requiring physicians to check the database, the group encourages its member to use the database and is willing to work with the pharmacy board to investigate why more prescribers aren’t using it, Koma said.

The OSMA has produced a slide show that’s posted on its Web site in an attempt to educate its members about the prescription drug database, which is called the Ohio Automated Rx Reporting System.

The Sheriffs Association is pushing for the law due to concerns about the abuse and illegal sale of prescription drugs, in addition to rising drug-related deaths in state. Nevada is the only other state to have passed a similar law, which it did in 2007, the Plain Dealer says. That law requires any prescriber to access the statewide database if he or she has a new patient who is seeking narcotics or an existing patient who is asking for narcotics that have never been prescribed.