Study: Mandatory PDMP Checks Cut Doctor Shopping by 80%

Wednesday, February 22, 2017 | 0

Prescription drug monitoring programs that require a doctor to check a patient’s record in the database before prescribing opioids resulted in an 80% decrease in doctor shopping for painkillers, according to a new study in the journal Addictive Behaviors.

In contrast, PDMPs in which doctors aren’t required to check the database before prescribing opioids resulted in a 56% decrease in doctor shopping, Reuters reported in an article on the study.

States that required checking of the prescription database reduced the use of painkillers for non-medical purposes by an average of 20 days a year, the study found. In states with voluntary PDMPs, the reduction averaged 10 days a year.

Researchers from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration, RTI International and Loyola University analyzed information from the annual National Survey of Drug Use and Health from 2004 until 2014.

They said there was no significant association between PDMP implementation and new cases of heroin use.