Currently, 33 states have statewide databases — Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs — used to track records of controlled substances, with another 10 that have provisions authorizing the systems. Under the new legislation, states eligible for the renewed grants must not only continue to track prescriptions with abuse potential but also will have timelines for making PDMP data interoperable with nearby states that are also eligible for the grants.
Additionally, the House bill will require states to give data to the Department of Health & Human Services, which will evaluate their PDMP and will permit non-identifiable summaries of the data to be made available for research.
A similar version of the new legislation has been introduced to the Senate.
Read the Government Health IT report about the Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs.
Read other coverage about healthcare information technology:
– Survey Suggests Healthcare Providers Slow to Sign Contracts With Regional Extension Centers
– New Government Health IT Panel to Set Road Rules for Nationwide Health Information Network
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