Award Information
Description of original award (Fiscal Year 2010, $400,000)
Beginning in FY 2002, Congress appropriated funding to the U.S. Department of Justice to support the Harold Rogers Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PDMP). Prescription monitoring programs 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 monitoring programs have the capability to collect and analyze prescription data much more efficiently than states without such programs, where the collection of prescription information requires the manual review of pharmacy files, a time-consuming and invasive process.
The Prescription Drug Monitoring Program assists states as they plan, implement, or enhance a PDMP to: build a state-level data collection and analysis system to enhance the capacity of regulatory and law enforcement agencies and public health officials for future prevention efforts; enhance existing programs abilities to analyze and use collected data to identify drug abuse trends, identify and address sources of diversion, and increase the number of users of the PDMP; facilitate and participate in national evaluation efforts to assess efficiency and effectiveness; encourage and implement the exchange of information among states to prevent cross-border diversion; assess the efficiency and effectiveness of state-level programs to make improvements and encourage additional states to implement programs; and, enhance collaborations with law enforcement, prosecutors, treatment professionals, the medical community, and pharmacies to establish a comprehensive PDMP strategy.
The Massachusetts Department of Public Health will use the PDMP enhancement grant to improve availability and use of the MA Prescription Monitoring Program (MA PMP) system among authorized prescribers, dispensers, and investigators within and across state lines through the following goals: enhance information technology development for intrastate and interstate data sharing; reduce the rate of inappropriate use of pharmaceutical controlled substances; and reduce the quantity of pharmaceutical controlled substances obtained by individuals attempting to engage in fraud and deceit. Project activities will be focused in the following areas: prepare, including essential information technology related steps, for the MA PMP to participate in information sharing with other states through the PMIX Hub; prepare, including essential legal and policy related steps, for the MA PMP to participate in information sharing with other states through the PMIX Hub; implement enhanced solicited and unsolicited PMP reports for authorized investigators and health care providers; and coordinate and develop training and outreach strategies with other state PMPs and other stakeholders on MA PMP and PMIX Hub systems.
CA/NCF