Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2023 Nov 30;1(6):qxad067.
doi: 10.1093/haschl/qxad067. eCollection 2023 Dec.

Prescription drug monitoring program use by opioid prescribers: a cross-sectional study

Adam Sacarny  1   2   3 , Ian Williamson  4 , Weston Merrick  4 , Tatyana Avilova  5 , Mireille Jacobson  2   6   7
Affiliations

Prescription drug monitoring program use by opioid prescribers: a cross-sectional study

Adam Sacarny et al. Health Aff Sch. .

Abstract

Clinician use of prescription drug monitoring programs (PDMPs) has been linked to better patient outcomes, but state requirements to use PDMPs are unevenly enforced. We assessed PDMP use in Minnesota, which requires opioid prescribers to hold accounts and, in most cases, search the PDMP before prescribing, but where enforcement authority is limited. Using 2023 PDMP data, we found that 4 in 10 opioid prescribers did not search and 2 in 10 did not hold an account. PDMP use was strongly associated with prescribing volume, but even among the top decile of opioid prescribers, 8% never searched the PDMP. Thirty-two percent of opioid fills came from clinicians who did not search the PDMP. Failures to use the PDMP may be driven by a lack of information about state requirements, beliefs that these requirements are not enforced, and the costs of accessing the PDMP relative to the benefits. These results highlight the potential for policy makers to promote safer and better-informed prescribing of opioids and other drugs by addressing the forces that have limited PDMP use so far.

Keywords: controlled substances; opioids; prescribing; prescription drug monitoring programs.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of interest Please see ICMJE form(s) for author conflicts of interest. These have been provided as supplementary materials. Drs. Avilova and Merrick report no conflicts.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Rates of prescription drug monitoring program (PDMP) searching and account-holding by decile of opioid-prescribing volume. There were 16 378 clinicians who prescribed opioids during the study period. Prescribers are grouped into deciles according to their volume of opioid prescribing in total days supplied during the 180-day period starting February 1, 2023.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Rhodes E, Wilson M, Robinson A, Hayden JA, Asbridge M. The effectiveness of prescription drug monitoring programs at reducing opioid-related harms and consequences: a systematic review. BMC Health Serv Res. 2019;19(1):784. 10.1186/s12913-019-4642-8 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Buchmueller T, Carey C. The effect of prescription drug monitoring programs on opioid utilization in Medicare. Am Econ J Econ Policy. 2018;10(1):77–112. 10.1257/pol.20160094 - DOI
    1. Grecu AM, Dave DM, Saffer H. Mandatory access prescription drug monitoring programs and prescription drug abuse. J Policy Anal Manage. 2019;38(1):181–209. 10.1002/pam.22098 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Carey CM, Meille G, Buchmueller TC. Provider compliance with Kentucky's prescription drug monitoring program's mandate to query patient opioid history: study examines Kentucky's prescription drug monitoring program which features a mandatory patient history query requirement for providers filling opioid prescriptions. Health Aff (Millwood). 2021;40(3):461–468. - PubMed
    1. Prescription Drug Monitoring Program Training and Technical Assistance Center . State PDMP Profiles and Contacts. Published 2023. Accessed October 10, 2023. https://www.pdmpassist.org/state

LinkOut - more resources