Connie Brooks Questions



SBAR

St. Louis County Prescription Drug Monitoring Program

1. Situation: (Brief description of the current issue or situation requiring project/program.) 

The State of Missouri is the only state in the country that does not operate a PDMP. Saint Louis County, however, passed an ordinance in March of 2016 establishing the first local PDMP in the nation, and was quickly joined by the City of St. Louis, St. Charles County, Jackson County, the City of Independence, Kansas City, Ste. Genevieve County, and Cole County. These counties now form the base of the only locally operated PDMP nationwide and are openly inviting all Missouri counties to participate if interested. Saint Louis County, and all of the current subscribers, are still in support of efforts at a statewide program and have built a system that can transition to the state if such an event occurs.

2. Background: (Relevant background data about current situation and current and past approaches to the situation) 

The rate of opiate addiction and death have risen sharply in the past six years. Nationwide, the Centers for Disease Control have identified this a significant public health issue. In Missouri, the rates of prescription drug overdoses are among the highest in the country, which has also been a substantial contributor to the number of heroin deaths as well. One of the most effective prevention methods is to reduce the overall number of controlled substances that are prescribed for medical issues that can be treated with alternative therapies and to monitor patients effectively for signs of potential addiction. This need had resulted in the development of Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs (PDMPs) nationwide.

The St. Louis County Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PDMP) monitors the prescribing and dispensing of schedule II-IV controlled substances to assist in the identification and prevention of prescription drug misuse and abuse. The program’s goals are to 1) improve controlled substance prescribing by providing critical information regarding a patient’s controlled substance prescription history, 2) inform clinical practice by identifying patients at high-risk who would benefit from early interventions, and 3) reduce the number of people who misuse, abuse, or overdose while making sure patients have access to safe, effective treatment.

After the passing of the St. Louis County legislation, an RFP was developed and sent to potential vendors. Applications were reviewed by both St. Louis County and City and the vendor selected was Appriss- the largest nationwide vendor for PDMPs. This vendor has substantial experience in delivering a safe and comprehensive system that is used in most of the country. The contract was completed and the system is currently in testing with a production timeline that will go live to prescribers in April 2017.

While the PDMP is not the only method that is being used to help address the severity of the opiate problem, an effective and well-managed program can be extremely helpful at preventing serious opiate addiction.

 

3. Assessment: (Your assessment about the situation and description of project or program that might address the situation.)

A PDMP to improve the care of MO patients engaged in the healthcare system is one of the most effective forms of prevention for opiate addiction. There is a local system developed by St. Louis County which, with all current participating counties, will cover over 50% of MO residents and almost 70% of MO providers. This system will be live in April 2017. St. Louis County is also organizing an application for the federal funding from the Department of Justice that has been modified to allow a local proposal for operation and expansion of PDMPs and will use those funds to expand to additional counties.

4. Recommendation/ Request : (policy, personnel, other resources needed to accomplish the project or program)

 The Saint Louis County Department of Public Health is implementing, operating, and maintaining the PDMP and will act as the PDMP administrator. Other jurisdictions can participate or subscribe to the St. Louis County PDMP; those jurisdictions are considered subscribing counties. A subscribing county is a county or jurisdiction that has enacted appropriate legislation authorizing participation in the St. Louis County PDMP and has engaged in a User Agreement with St. Louis County. All current materials related to this program can be accessed at HealthandWellness/PDMP

St. Louis County invites the participation of local health departments and other entities from across the state. If you are interested in learning more about the program or want to participate, please email PDMP.DPH@

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