What is a Prescription Drug Monitoring Program or PDMP?
Prescription drug monitoring programs help healthcare providers make sure that they are well aware of patients who are addicted or are at risk of becoming addicted to dangerous prescription drugs. The PDPM program is a proactive strategy in order to combat the opioid crisis in the United States.
PDMP programs are electronic databases that monitor control substance prescription at the state level. This facilitates healthcare providers and professionals better comprehend the patients that are at opioid risk and then provide targeted treatment or therapy. Once targeted care can be offered with this vital information this can reduce substance abuse.
The Benefits of PDMPs
Prescription drug monitoring programs help to elevate patient safety as clinicians can easily identify the patients who are using controlled substances. Healthcare providers can also detect patients who are obtaining opioids from multiple pharmacies. Some states in America have made it compulsory for clinicians and pharmacists to check PDMPs before prescribing controlled substances.
PDMPs make it simpler for healthcare providers to understand a patient’s complete medical history and prescribe appropriate drugs which will keep patients safer and also enhance patient outcome levels in the future.
Targeted treatment can be provided to patients as providers have a better insight into every detail of a patient’s medical history and other risk factors. Once an effective treatment plan can be rolled out, patients can be on the road to recovery.
On a statewide basis, these programs are powerful enough to act as public health tools to proactively inform interventions to be taken by professionals or state health departments which will impact care decisions nationally.
Why is it important to use a PDPM partner?
- The seamless integration with Electronic Medical Records (EMR) software or EHR software solutions offers ease of usage for users.
- Prescriptions can be easily tracked like never before.
- State requirements and standards can be easily met.
Positive Outcomes of PDMP
The states with PDPMs have a decrease in the following in contrast to the states without PDMP.
- Drug abuse and misuse of drugs.
- Oxycodone shipments.
- Use of benzodiazepine especially in young women.
- Prescription opioid treatment admissions every year.
Moving Ahead
The use of prescription drug monitoring programs in the US has helped to decrease the number of inpatient stays due to opioid usage and also decrease the number of opioid-related cases in the ER. When armed with the right information into patients risk providers are well-equipped to provide prompt treatment to patients to combat substance abuse. The aim of PDPM is to help reduce opioid misuse, overdose, and abuse to improve patient safety.
