Prescription Drug Monitoring Program

Prescription Drug Monitoring Program

It is without a doubt that there is an epidemic related to opioid abuse. In fact, opioids are not the only substance that is being abused. Many individuals take advantage of benzodiazepines. In short, if someone does not feel optimal, they make an appointment with their doctor. Next, after a few minutes in a cold, quiet and uncomfortable room, you are now the proud owner of what is most likely an inappropriately prescribed medication. Why is this becoming such a burden on society and why is it so easy to be part of?

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stated that as of October 31, 2015, Michigan did not require prescribers to consult the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PDMP) before initially prescribing opioids (2017). If drug abuse were an issue, why wouldn't hard stops be in place to ensure the safety as well as the health and well-being of the patient at hand? It is important to realize that spending a few more minutes in the doctor's office as either the patient or doctor will only serve to better the outcome as intended. Physicians are bombarded with an increasing patient population. And as everyone knows, time is money. Additionally, a happy patient is money as well. Many ways to speed up the healing process is to mask what is indeed wrong. This is done all too often with pain medication and mood stabilizers.

The prescription drug-monitoring program, which is already in place, is designed to ensure that the prescriber is not inappropriately prescribing opioids or benzodiazepines (National Association of State Controlled Substances Authorities, 2018). It is simple. Type the client's name into the database, a history of medications will be revealed, and the medical professional can decide whether abuse is an issue or if it may soon become one. As of 2018, Michigan has now implemented the opioid consent/ acknowledgment form for medical prescribers as a way of preventing unintentional overdoses. It is done in a manner of educating the client and having them sign the form stating they understand the medication and the repercussion to taking said medication (Michigan State Medical Society, 2018). This is a significant step in the management of opioids. However, I firmly believe that this consent form is not good enough. It only protects the prescriber from being accused of wrongly issuing a potentially harmful substance.

According to Bao, et al. (2016), More than ten million Americans reported using opioids nonmedically in 2014. When a physician prescribes a medication, they are doing so with the intention of helping their patient's health. However, there are times when other methods could be applied instead of medicine. This is not the transaction that the patient is expecting. If a person leaves the doctor without medication, it is assumed that they are okay. Instead, having a prescription in hand means the visit was worthwhile. It appears that exploring other healing methods is a thing of the past it. Having a mandatory hard-stop such as the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program is a full proof way of ensuring that a particular medication is being prescribed with its best intention, and not just to keep the patient happy.

Jason Sysol

Reference

Bao, Y., Pan, Y., Taylor, A., Radakrishnan, S., Luo, F., Pincus, H. A., & Schackman, B.

R. (2016). Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs Are Associated With Sustained Reductions In Opioid Prescribing By Physicians. Health Affairs, 35(6), 1045-1051. doi:10.1377/hlthaff.2015.1673

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2017, October 03). Opioid Overdose.

Retrieved June 12, 2018, from https://www.cdc.gov/drugoverdose/pdmp/states.html

Michigan State Medical Society. (2018). Opioid consent/acknowledgement form is now

available. Retrieved July 8, 2018, from https://www.msms.org/About-MSMS/News-Media/opioid-consentacknowledgement-form-is-now-available-7

National Association of State Controlled Substances Authorities. (2018). Retrieved June

12, 2018, from http://www.nascsa.org/rxMonito...