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 State of Connecticut will use the funds for the following: significantly enhance their ability to intercede or perform interdiction for referral to pain management or addiction specialists; create or improve outreach and education to increase awareness of existing issues they are faced with and how the PMP will aid in their efforts to decrease diversion, abuse, and addiction; increase stake-holders by creating an Advisory Task Force for the Prescription Monitoring Program; create a Prescription Monitoring Program implementation plan; significantly enhance their Department of Consumer Protection, Drug Control Division and Law Enforcement agencies abilities to identify, apprehend, and prosecute individuals engaged in the diversion of pharmaceutical controlled substances; reduce the quantity of pharmaceutical controlled substances obtained by "Doctor Shopping"; increase the quality of data and cooperative efforts between state, local, and federal agencies such as the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA); identify and eradicate outdated or inappropriate prescribing practices, and; increase coordination amongst regulatory and law enforcement agencies across state lines.
CA/NCF