It’s not uncommon for patients to get prescribed medications from multiple physicians whether from their primary care physician or at an urgent care facility. And now that physicians in most states are dispensing medications at the point-of-care, they need to ensure they’re making informed prescribing decisions. But how?
With a Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PDMP).
What is a PDMP?
A Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PDMP), as defined by the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), is:
“an electronic database that tracks controlled substance prescriptions in a state. PDMPs can provide health authorities timely information about prescribing and patient behaviors that contribute to the epidemic and facilitate a nimble and targeted response.”
According to the National Institutes of Health, 49 states and Washington, DC have adopted a PDMP to help prevent overprescribing of controlled medications and diversion of controlled substances. And though the initial purpose of PDMPs was to address the U.S. opioid crisis, it is becoming more widely accepted as a way to intervene at the point-of-care.
Why is a PDMP important?
PDMPs are promising tools that allow healthcare providers to see patients’ prescribing histories, which help them make more informed prescribing decisions.
Dispensing physicians are required to check their state’s PDMP before prescribing, and they are also required to report all dispenses. This “checks and balances” approach helps ensure other prescribers and dispensers have access to the information to help avoid over prescribing and to help make sure patients aren’t “double-dipping.” In other words, it helps to make sure patients aren’t getting prescriptions from multiple physicians.
Being part of a PDMP helps keep your patients safe by:
- Identifying patients who are obtaining opioids & other prescription medications from multiple providers
- Calculating the total amount of medications prescribed per day (in MME/day)
- Identifying patients who are being prescribed other substances that may increase risk of opioids, such as benzodiazepines
Automated, real-time data
Up until recently, reporting to PDMP systems had to be done manually, but Pharma Pac’s web-based software automates the report generation process by prompting users and submitting the PDMP reports in states where the practice is located.
And, when you work with an in-office medication dispensing solutions provider like Pharma Pac, you will have access to the PDMP reporting feature, which allows you to stay focused on your patients, not the process of generating and formatting your report per state requirements.
To find out if Pharma Pac offers reporting in your state, please contact a Pharma Pac team member today!