Award Information
Description of original award (Fiscal Year 2006, $400,000)
In Fiscal Year 2006, Congress appropriated $7,500,000 to the U.S. Department of Justice to support the Harold Rogers Prescription Drug Monitoring Program. Prescription monitoring programs are systems where controlled substance dispensing data is submitted to a centralized database administered by an authorized state agency. These programs are designed to help prevent and detect the diversion and abuse of pharmaceutical controlled substances, particularly at the retail level where no other automated information collection system exists.
States that have implemented prescription drug monitoring programs have the capability of collecting and analyzing prescription data much more efficiently than states without such programs, where the collection of prescription information requires the manual review of pharmacy files which is a very time consuming and invasive process. The increased efficiency of prescription monitoring programs allows for the early detection of abuse trends and possible sources of diversion. The analysis of collected data also allows for the identification of outmoded prescribing practices, such as the undertreatment of pain, which may result in the development of educational programs for medical professionals.
The Alabama Department of Public Health (ADPH) is continuing to address the problem of the diversion of prescription drugs for illegal use. They are working with a Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PDMP) Advisory Committee who is assisting in the development and implementation of professional and public education programs. ADPH will continue using a four-pronged approach to PDMP education: (1) developing a public information campaign using the mass media to inform the public about prescription drug problems. (2) conducting a minimum of two educational mass mailings to health care professionals combined with live programs at selected professional association meetings, (3) developing a public service announcement program to further public understanding about prescription drug abuse, and (4) teaching law enforcement personnel about the appropriate use of controlled substances. The overall goals of the project are to implement successful professional and public education programs and eliminate the abuse of prescription drugs in the State of Alabama as well as surrounding states.
CA/NCF