The Florida Department of Health is trying to set rules for the state’s prescription-drug database.
On Tuesday the agency held a workshop on procedures governing who can access the personal information of Floridians in the database and how.
The database has come under fire for the disclosure of confidential prescription-drug information for about 3,300 people in the Volusia County area.
Their data was given to defense attorneys in a drug case.
Now DOH spokesman Marty Stubblefield says defining the rules will help everyone.
"We have to balance the positives with our fears and our concerns", Stubblefield said. "Our hope is that we can control those fears and concerns - that we can put into place everything we can to keep information safe."
The American Civil Liberties Union of Florida recently recommended that law enforcement agencies be required to get search warrants in order to access the database.
The database was created in 2009 to curb "doctor shopping" by drug abusers who visit multiple doctors and pharmacies to get painkillers.
According to DOH, since the database started, deaths due to Oxycodone abuse have dropped eighteen percent, while "doctor shopping" has been cut in half.