TY - JOUR
T1 - Physician attitudes and experiences with Maryland's prescription drug monitoring program (PDMP)
AU - Lin, Dora H.
AU - Lucas, Eleanor
AU - Murimi, Irene B.
AU - Jackson, Katherine
AU - Baier, Michael
AU - Frattaroli, Shannon
AU - Gielen, Andrea C.
AU - Moyo, Patience
AU - Simoni-Wastila, Linda
AU - Alexander, G. Caleb
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2016 Society for the Study of Addiction
PY - 2017/2/1
Y1 - 2017/2/1
N2 - Aims: Physicians’ use of prescription drug monitoring programs (PDMPs) varies by state. Among Maryland physicians, we sought to (1) estimate the PDMP impact on changes in opioid prescribing, (2) approximate the scope of PDMP utility and (3) determine the barriers to PDMP use after its 2013 implementation. Design: Cross-sectional postal survey linking responses to state records of PDMP registration and use, randomly sampling physicians within specialty and registration strata. Setting: Maryland, USA. Participants: A total of 1000 surveyed primary care, pain and emergency medicine physicians stratified into three subpopulations: PDMP non-registrants, PDMP registrants who were non-users and PDMP users; 405 respondents (44%) of 916 eligible physicians were analysed. Measurements: Primary outcome measure was PDMP use. Key predictors were clinic characteristics, including type of practice and number of patients prescribed opioids. Findings: No response-wave bias was identified. Seventy per cent of physicians believed PDMP access decreased their amount and increased their comfort level in prescribing opioids. Three-fourths (74%) of PDMP users reported the data very useful for informing opioid prescribing, although one-fifth (20%) reported difficulty accessing the data. Commonly reported barriers to PDMP use were lack of knowledge regarding its existence and registration process. In multivariable analysis after adjusting for key clinic characteristics, practicing at a managed care organization was associated with lower PDMP use [incidence rate ratio (IRR) = 0.19, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.05–0.73]. Conversely, physicians who prescribed opioids for more than 50 patients accessed the PDMP three times as often as those prescribing opioids for fewer than 10 patients monthly (IRR = 3.00, 95 % CI = 1.07–8.43). Conclusions: In this survey of Maryland, USA physicians, most participants reported that prescription drug monitoring programs (PDMPs) improved their opioid prescribing by decreasing prescription amounts and increasing comfort with prescribing opioids. Common barriers to PDMP use included not knowing about the program, registration difficulties and data access difficulties.
AB - Aims: Physicians’ use of prescription drug monitoring programs (PDMPs) varies by state. Among Maryland physicians, we sought to (1) estimate the PDMP impact on changes in opioid prescribing, (2) approximate the scope of PDMP utility and (3) determine the barriers to PDMP use after its 2013 implementation. Design: Cross-sectional postal survey linking responses to state records of PDMP registration and use, randomly sampling physicians within specialty and registration strata. Setting: Maryland, USA. Participants: A total of 1000 surveyed primary care, pain and emergency medicine physicians stratified into three subpopulations: PDMP non-registrants, PDMP registrants who were non-users and PDMP users; 405 respondents (44%) of 916 eligible physicians were analysed. Measurements: Primary outcome measure was PDMP use. Key predictors were clinic characteristics, including type of practice and number of patients prescribed opioids. Findings: No response-wave bias was identified. Seventy per cent of physicians believed PDMP access decreased their amount and increased their comfort level in prescribing opioids. Three-fourths (74%) of PDMP users reported the data very useful for informing opioid prescribing, although one-fifth (20%) reported difficulty accessing the data. Commonly reported barriers to PDMP use were lack of knowledge regarding its existence and registration process. In multivariable analysis after adjusting for key clinic characteristics, practicing at a managed care organization was associated with lower PDMP use [incidence rate ratio (IRR) = 0.19, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.05–0.73]. Conversely, physicians who prescribed opioids for more than 50 patients accessed the PDMP three times as often as those prescribing opioids for fewer than 10 patients monthly (IRR = 3.00, 95 % CI = 1.07–8.43). Conclusions: In this survey of Maryland, USA physicians, most participants reported that prescription drug monitoring programs (PDMPs) improved their opioid prescribing by decreasing prescription amounts and increasing comfort with prescribing opioids. Common barriers to PDMP use included not knowing about the program, registration difficulties and data access difficulties.
KW - Controlled substance monitoring
KW - Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs
KW - doctor shopping
KW - drug utilization
KW - policy
KW - prescription drug abuse
KW - prescription opioid epidemic
KW - prescription opioids
KW - substance use disorder
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U2 - 10.1111/add.13620
DO - 10.1111/add.13620
M3 - Article
C2 - 27658522
AN - SCOPUS:85008937117
SN - 0965-2140
VL - 112
SP - 311
EP - 319
JO - Addiction
JF - Addiction
IS - 2
ER -