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ASAM Releases Public Policy Statement on Refocusing Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs (PDMPs) to Serve Public Health
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 28, 2023
As widely recognized public health tools, states should take additional steps to ensure PDMPs better serve public health, patients, and their clinical care teams
Rockville, MD – The American Society of Addiction Medication today released a new public policy statement calling for Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs (PDMPs) across the country to be fundamentally oriented toward promoting public health, serving patients and their clinical care teams, and preventing overdose and other adverse harms.
Specifically, ASAM calls on states to house PDMPs within public health agencies rather than law enforcement agencies and to prohibit law enforcement from accessing PDMP data unless a search warrant has been obtained – supported by probable cause that an unlawful criminal act may have occurred. While it remains true that PDMPs are valuable tools for monitoring and managing the use of controlled medications by clinicians, helping them make informed decisions, and preventing potential adverse harms associated with controlled medications, clinicians are becoming increasingly concerned about the potential compromise of patient privacy when law enforcement agencies have easier access to PDMP data. Currently, many states rely on relatively lenient legal mechanisms for law enforcement accessing PDMP data which may not adequately safeguard patient information.
In other recommendations, ASAM calls for increased transparency in algorithms for patient risk scoring in PDMPs to ensure equitable access to medical care. ASAM further recommends that federal agencies clarify in guidance that such risk scoring tools should not be used to replace clinical judgment or reflexively withhold appropriate treatment from patients. The new policy statement also includes recommendations for increased uniformity in federal and state policies to enhance the effectiveness of PDMPs, particularly with respect to interstate data sharing, universal integration with tools like electronic health records, and the inclusion of methadone and buprenorphine dispensed from opioid treatment programs (OTPs) in the medications reportable to PDMPs.
"PDMPs represent an enormous opportunity for improving clinical and public health interventions in the ongoing addiction and overdose crisis," said Cara Poland, MD, M.Ed, DFASAM, Chair of ASAM’s Public Policy Committee. "Policymakers must continue to work towards refocusing PDMPs to better serve public health, as well as patients and clinicians across this country."
To read the ASAM’s Public Policy Statement on Refocusing Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs (PDMPs) to Serve Public Health, CLICK HERE.
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About the American Society of Addiction Medicine
The American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM), founded in 1954, is a professional medical society representing over 7,000 physicians, clinicians, and associated professionals in the field of addiction medicine. ASAM is dedicated to increasing access and improving the quality of addiction treatment, educating physicians and the public, supporting research and prevention and promoting the appropriate role of physicians in the care of patients with addiction. For more information, visit www.ASAM.org.