Can Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs Help Limit Opioid Abuse?

Increasing opioid dependence and diversion add to the challenge of providing appropriate treatment for acute and chronic pain. Patient satisfaction is often related to treatment of pain, which is difficult to assess objectively; thus, opioids are prescribed using a combination of patient assessment, self-reported history, and clinical gestalt. Access to a patient's prescription history informs a physician's decision to prescribe these effective but potentially dangerous medications. Current evidence suggests that sedulously designed and implemented prescription drug monitoring programs can play a critical role in helping to reduce oploid abuse, diversion, and overdose. Gugelmann and Perrone discuss the needed physician, patient, and policy maker advocacy at the state and national level to enhance and expand these monitoring programs.