The likelihood that physicians would prescribe Schedule II opioids — which have high potential for abuse or addiction — dropped by more than 30 percent when prescribers had access to a prescription drug monitoring database, according to a recent study.
Prescription drug monitoring programs are online databases that allow states to track pharmacy dispensing rates of high-risk prescriptions, like opioids. They allow physicians to flag patients who are at-risk of "doctor-shopping," or going to multiple physicians to get multiple pain prescriptions, or at-risk of "diversion," which includes sharing their prescriptions with friends and relatives. On the flipside, the databases also allow law enforcement and medical boards to monitor prescriber behavior and take action for any unusual prescribing practices.
These databases have been implemented, upgraded or legislation has been passed to do so in 49 states. The only state without a database is Missouri, according to the study, which was published in the June issue of Health Affairs.
Considering roughly 19,000 Americans died from prescription opioid overdoses in 2014 and more than 10 million Americans reported nonmedical use of opioids that same year, researchers decided to assess the effectiveness of prescription monitoring databases.
To do so, they examined 26,275 ambulatory care visits for pain in 24 states that implemented prescription drug monitoring programs between 2001 and 2010. They found a noted reduction in the probability physicians would prescribe Schedule II opioids was almost immediate in the first year after states implemented such programs, and was maintained in the second and third years afterward.
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