Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs (PDMP) Resources
Nearly all states have enacted laws to establish PDMPs, electronic databases to collect data on controlled substances dispensed or prescribed within their jurisdictions. However, the absence of business rules governing or allowing sharing of information from state to state and across pharmacies, lack of interoperability among the operational PDMPs, and variation in the timeliness of data reporting make it difficult for states and law enforcement to prevent misuse, abuse and fraud.
NCPDP White Papers
In March 2013, NCPDP published a white paper (NCPDP Recommendations for Improving Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs) detailing a plan to help nationally standardize PDMPs to better track and deter abuse of controlled substance prescriptions. The plan leverages NCPDP’s Telecommunication Standard in use industry wide and best practices to improve prescriber and pharmacy clinical decision making at point-of-care, and support real-time access to PDMP data across state lines. It integrates the prescription monitoring process into workflows and provides timely clinical data to prescribers and pharmacists, which also helps ensure access for patients with a valid medical need for controlled substances.
NCPDP has shared its Recommendations for Improving Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs with the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) for inclusion in the ONC’s Standards and Interoperability Framework. NCPDP has also been educating policymakers about the need for timeliness and interoperability in a PDMP solution. The NCPDP white paper recommendations were developed by a PDMP Task Group formed as an outcome of a multi-stakeholder NCPDP focus group held in October 2012. The focus group was convened to identify the specific challenges and goals of PDMPs across all stakeholder groups and create an action plan to achieve standardization. The task group set out to propose efficient solutions that leverage existing standards and workflows to facilitate standardization and adoption at a national level.
January 2019 - This update to NCPDP’s PDMP white paper (NCPDP Standards-based Facilitator Model for PDMP White Paper) outlines the latest changes in federal activity and industry impact to address the prescription drug abuse crisis. It explains how the new PDMP Reporting Standard and enhancements to the NCPDP SCRIPT Standard V2017071 and the Telecommunication Standard can facilitate standardization; real-time reporting of dispenser and purchaser data; and improve retrieval of PDMP data that will allow providers to make more informed clinical decisions at the point of care.
March 2020 - In an effort to reduce patient prescription drug overdoses and drug abuse, the NCPDP Standards-based Facilitated Model for PDMP: Phase 1 White Paper recommends Phase 1 solutions to assist authorized healthcare providers, including prescribers and pharmacists, in making more informed clinical decisions prior to writing and dispensing medications.
September 2020 - The NCPDP Standards-based Facilitated Model for PDMP - Phase I and II white paper has been updated to add Phase II which supports real-time reporting and risk response in addition to Phase I functionality. The facilitated model leverages current industry technology and clinical expertise to create and/or communicate potential risks using an algorithm (e.g., risk score). The facilitated model also supports prescribers and dispensers with information to assist in making an appropriate clinical decision.
State PMP Tracking Document
All states, except Missouri, currently have a prescription monitoring program (PMP). In the absence of a national program, NCPDP Work Group 9 Government Programs created and maintains a document, which provides information on all state PMPs. Information includes the PMP name, schedules monitored, format, batch/on-line, submission methods, reporting frequency, processor, overseeing agency and contact information. This State PMP Tracking Document is updated quarterly.