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 Illinois Department of Human Services has drafted changes to the current Illinois Controlled Substances Act. These proposed changes will expand the agency's legal authority to monitor controlled prescription drugs to include all schedules except the experimental Schedule I drugs. The expectation is that the Illinois General Assembly will enact this legislation during the 2006 session. With approved legislative authority, the Department will contact all dispensers to explain the changes and will modify its program capacity to collect Schedules III through V prescription data. In addition, an online access system and electronic prescription protocol will be developed for doctors and pharmacists. The Department will continue to work with the advisory committee of prescribers and dispensers, the Illinois Department of Health and Family Services, Illinois State Police, Drug Enforcement Administration, Illinois State Medical Society, and Illinois Pharmacists Association on the program expansion. The Department will demonstrate program effectiveness by comparing monitoring data to Illinois State Police statistical data on individuals identified, apprehended, and prosecuted and to Illinois Department of Public Health statistical information on hospital emergency drug admissions due to drug overdose or misuse.
CA/NCF