State Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs

HDMA’s Position:
HDMA supports continued federal funding of state prescription drug monitoring programs (PDMPs). With states across the country still facing record budget deficits, federal funding of PDMPs is critical. A PDMP is an electronic database that collects statewide dispensing and prescribing data on specified substances. The data is held by a state regulatory, administrative or law enforcement agency. PDMPs are used by states as a tool to identify and prevent prescription drug abuse and diversion. Pharmaceutical distributors, while not prescribing or dispensing controlled substances, work nationwide with state and federal officials and industry partners to ensure product availability while minimizing opportunities for diversion.

Currently, there are two federal sources of funding for PDMPs: the Harold Rogers Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (HRPDMP) and the National All Schedules Prescription Electronic Reporting Act (NASPER). HRPDMP is administered by the U.S. Department of Justice and provides for planning, implementation, and enhancement grants. NASPER is administered by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and funds PDMP databases.

Issue: 
The dramatic rise of prescription drug abuse has achieved epidemic proportions across the country in the last ten years. In 2010, HHS reported that between 1998 and 2008, hospital admissions for abuse of prescription pain relievers increased by 400 percent. The White House Office of National Drug Policy recently reported that prescription pain killers are now the second most abused drug in the country. Other commonly abused types of prescription drugs include tranquilizers, stimulants and sedatives. To combat the potential for diversion or abuse of controlled substances, many states use PDMPs to track drugs through the patient, prescriber or dispenser to ensure that their prescribing and dispensing is appropriate.

Additional Information:
As of September 2011, 37 states have operational PDMPs with the capacity to receive and distribute controlled substance prescription information to authorized users. States with operational programs include: Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia and Wyoming.

Eleven states — Alaska, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, Nebraska, New Jersey, South Dakota, Wisconsin and Washington — have enacted legislation to establish a PDMP, but are not fully operational.

The Healthcare Distribution Management Association (HDMA) is the national association representing primary healthcare distributors, the vital link between the nation’s pharmaceutical manufacturers and healthcare providers. Each business day, HDMA member companies ensure that nearly nine million prescription medicines and healthcare products are delivered safely and efficiently to nearly 200,000 pharmacies, hospitals, long-term care facilities, clinics and others nationwide. HDMA and its members work daily to provide value and achieve cost savings, an estimated $42 billion each year to our nation’s healthcare system.