There are 250 million prescriptions written annually, enough for one bottle for every American adult. Data from the Center for Disease Control indicates that in 2016, there were approximately 42,000 deaths attributable to opioids, 40 percent of which were from prescription opioids. The purpose of PMPs was to help reduce abuse of and overdose deaths from opioid prescriptions. Currently 49 states, the District of Columbia, and Guam have PMP programs, most of which are either monitored by the Board of Health or Board of Pharmacy.
The purposes of PMPs are to support access to legitimate medical use of controlled substances as well as to identify, deter or prevent drug abuse and diversion. Prescription monitoring programs (PMP) are state-based electronic databases used to track the prescribing of designated controlled substances. Some programs also monitor drugs that while still scheduled, don’t have abuse potential, like testosterone replacement therapy that is often used in gender reassignment.
Several states have also added other drugs that while not scheduled, do have abuse potential such as gabapentin and pregabalin. The PMP is a database that provides access to a person’s prescriptive history, usually with regard to DEA scheduled and controlled substances such as opioids and benzodiazepines. It is happening through a tracking database that goes by various names but is in essence a Prescription Monitoring Program (PMP). This is occurring however, with some regularity and not always for medical use. No provider should be accessing protected information however, without a medical need. The same holds true if you go to the emergency department or see a specialist. Similarly, if you call your doctor’s office off-hours, the covering doctor, whom may have no prior relationship with you, may similarly access these records. For example, if you have a regular doctor, that doctor can access your medical records. This protection is afforded to individuals by the Privacy Rule, which dictates who can access an individual’s medical records, and the Security Rule, which ensures that electronic medical records are protected.Īccess to someone’s healthcare records by a medical provider typically requires a direct health care-related relationship with the patient in question. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, better know as HIPAA, is a legislative action that helps to safeguard personal medical information. Privacy, especially as it relates to healthcare and protecting sensitive medical information, is an important issue.
0 kommentar(er)
