PROVIDENCE, R.I. A Rhode Island Hospital researcher has found that the use of electronic prescription drug monitoring programs (PMPs) may have a significant impact on the demand for drug treatment programs and how prescribers detect and respond to abuse of painkillers. The study by Traci C. Green, Ph.D., MSc, research scientist in Rhode Island Hospital's department of general internal medicine, is published online in advance of print in the journal Pain Medicine.
The study surveyed 1,385 providers in Rhode Island and Connecticut on their use of state PMPs, and found that PMP use was greater in Connecticut where an electronic PMP is available. PMPs are used to gather information about a patient's prescription history, and have the ability to verify patients' self-reported prescription history of abusable medications, aid in the determination of filling multiple prescriptions of the same drug from multiple providers, and assist in the cataloging of medications that may suggest contra-indications or increased risk of adverse events, like overdose.
Both states have reported significant increases in opioid-related death; in fact, overdose has surpassed motor vehicle crashes as the leading cause of unintentional injury death. A national survey indicates that Rhode Island has the highest per capita illicit drug use and ranks third, behind Oklahoma and Oregon, for non-medical use of prescription opioids among persons age 12 or older.
"Prescription drug monitoring programs have historically been oriented to criminal and judicial end users," Green said. "Use of PMPs by prescribers is growing, but how clinicians in actual practice use the data that these systems contain is not well understood."
The researchers surveyed providers in both states who are licensed to prescribe Schedule II medications. These medications have a high potential for abuse, which may lead to severe psychological or physical dependence. Schedule II
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