Oregon Prescription Drug Monitoring Program

State and federal requirements for monitoring controlled substance dispensed by Oregon pharmacies, combined with a proactive approach by Asante Pharmacy, have resulted in significant decreases in patients’ use of those drugs, a study has shown.

A study that evaluated the impact of controlled substance screening in the Asante Pharmacy was part of a master’s thesis co-authored by Asante pharmacist Matthew White and Ky Fifer. All of the study’s findings were considered statistically significant.

It showed a decrease of 16 percent in the proportion of patients with daily morphine doses greater than 120 mg and a decrease of 33 percent in patients with maximum daily methadone doses greater than 40 mg.

Other results included a decrease of 18 percent in patients taking concurrent tranquilizers, opioids and muscle relaxants; a reduction of 24 percent in patients filling prescriptions from multiple prescribers; and a decrease of 20 percent in patients filling prescriptions at multiple concurrent pharmacies.

The study examined data generated by a controlled substance screening policy implemented by Asante Pharmacy two years ago. Tabitha Norris, outpatient pharmacy coordinator for Asante Pharmacy in Medford, developed the policy based on guidance from the federal Drug Enforcement Agency and a Prescription Drug Monitoring Program established by the Oregon Health Authority.

Several Asante pharmacists also attended training presented by the Oregon Pain Guidance group, which was formed to engage health-care professionals and community partners in addressing issues with prescription drug abuse.

Under the Asante policy, each time a prescription is presented for certain drugs, a list of questions must be answered to determine if the prescription is safe and appropriate for the patient.

The federal and state efforts to curb prescription drug misuse were initiated in response to a steady rise of abuse across the nation and an increase in opioid overdose deaths reported by the Oregon Health Authority.

The DEA began auditing pharmacies, including several in southern Oregon, and an Oregon law required the Health Authority to establish and maintain the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program, which tracks all schedule II, III and IV controlled substances dispensed by Oregon-licensed pharmacies. The prescriptions are catalogued by patient name, prescriber and pharmacy to allow for screening of abuse by health-care professionals.

Contact Tabitha Norris for more information about implementation of the PDMP use policy, or Matthew White for information about the full study.