Prescription Monitoring Planning Grant

Since the beginning of FY 2002, Congress has appropriated funding to the U.S. Department of Justice to support the Harold Rogers Prescription Drug Monitoring Program. Prescription drug monitoring programs enhance the capacity of regulatory and law enforcement agencies to collect and analyze controlled substance prescription data through 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 drug monitoring programs allows for the early detection of abuse trends and possible sources of diversion.

Georgia Drugs and Narcotics Agency (GDNA) will use this $50,000 Category I: Planning Grant to establish a multidisciplinary statewide task force of stakeholders and create a state plan for establishing a prescription monitoring plan. The following objectives were delineated in the GDNA application: 1) increase the number of stakeholders; 2) increase the understanding of Prescription Monitoring Program (PMP) among stakeholders; 3) determine the extent of the problem related to drug abuse and diversion; 4) develop a PMP implementation plan; 5) identify individuals engaged in diversion of controlled substances; 6) examine the efficiency of investigational efforts; and, 7) identify cooperative efforts between state, local and federal agencies.

GDNA staff and task force members intend to network with states with existing PMPs, as well as the Alliance of States with PMP (ASPMP), the National Alliance for Model State Drug Laws (NAMSDL), and the National Association of State Controlled Substance Authorities (NASCSA). GDNA intends to visit at least two different states to observe their operations and attend regional and national meetings. GDNA will use part of the grant money for travel expenses to these meetings and states. The task force will work to provide education to both professional and public sectors regarding drug abuse problems in Georgia.

CA/NCF