Pennsylvania Launches Patient Prescription Database To Fight Opioid Epidemic

In an effort to battle the increasingly deadly opioid abuse and drug overdose epidemic sweeping across the state and the nation, Pennsylvania has launched a a new Prescription Drug Monitoring Program, which officials hope will help them to identify patients struggling with addictions.

Governor Wolf's office announced Thursday that the new program will be run by the Department of Health and that doctors and pharmacists will have full access. The state had previously run a monitoring program, but only law enforcement could use it.

Medical professionals will now be able to view patients' medication histories so that they can make more informed decisions when prescribing drugs, Wolf's office said. It will also help them to more quickly recognize potential substance abuse situations and ideally empower officials to address the abuse before it even starts.

"The opioid epidemic is one of the worst public health crises Pennsylvania has ever seen – but it doesn’t have to stay this way," said Karen Murphy, Pennsylvania Secretary of Health. "Physicians and pharmacists can help save thousands of Pennsylvanians from drug abuse and work to battle this epidemic by checking the system before dispensing a controlled substance every time."

Pennsylvania is one of the last states to implement a similar program: a total of 49 states now have some kind of patient prescription database.

Fatalities due to opioid abuse and drug overdose have risen rapidly in recent years. More than 3,500 Pennsylvanians died from drug overdoses in 2015.

The PA PDMP web portal is now open for registration for medical professionals at www.doh.pa.gov/PDMP.

Patch file photo.