@John Hill:  Can you do a follow-up to see how the database is protected from illegal access, and exactly who is legally allowed to access it? What are the patient's protections?

It is quite scary, as a patient, to see that our nanny state requires my surgeon or dentist or other practioner that performs painful procedures to put my name into a database that is accessible by who knows who.  (doctors, nurses, law-enforcement, hackers, ???). Every time I go to a doctor or get lab work done, I sign a medical information form that is supposed to protect my most confidential information  but these meddlers are superceding that protection.  

It is further scary to see that nanny state more and more telling my doctor what is good for me, and what he can or can't prescribe. Has the nanny state come up with safe and effective alternatives to opiods so that patients don't need to live with pain because some addicts got themselves into trouble?