States that required physicians to check prescription drug monitoring programs before writing an opioid prescription saw lower rates of "physician shopping," which is the practice of visiting several providers to obtain multiple prescriptions for painkillers, according to a new study in Addictive Behaviors.
Here are five things to know.
1. For the study, researchers analyzed annual nationwide surveys on drug use and health from 2004 to 2014 — the year 36 states implemented prescription drug monitoring programs.
2. PDMPs are state-run electronic databases designed to track drug prescriptions and identify those at risk of abusing opioids, reports Reuters. Every state except Missouri uses a drug monitoring program. Some programs require physicians to participate, while others are voluntary, according to the report.
3. In states where physicians are required the check the database before writing an opioid prescription, the odds of two or more physicians giving painkillers for nonmedical purposes to a single patient decreased by 80 percent. States with voluntary programs saw a 56 percent reduction.
4. States with mandatory prescription drug monitoring programs also reduced the use of painkillers for nonmedical purposes by an average of 20 days a year, according to the study. States with voluntary programs reduced nonmedical painkiller use by an average of 10 days a year.
5. "Our study shows that prescription-drug monitoring programs are a promising component of a multifaceted strategy to address the opioid epidemic," study author Ryan Mutter, PhD, a health economist at the Rockville, Md.-based Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration, told Reuters.