Privacy Protections and Law Enforcement Use of Prescription Drug Monitoring Databases

Prescription pain medication misuse and abuse is a considerable criminal justice and public health problem in the United States. As a result, prescription drug monitoring programs (PDMPs) have been developed and implemented across the country to monitor patients with high abuse potential and to detect abnormalities in the prescribing of controlled substances. The current study relies on a sample of 87 Florida law enforcement officers to gauge their perceptions of, use of, and perceived effectiveness of Florida’s PDMP. Results indicate that most of the law enforcement officers considered themselves moderate-to-frequent users of the PDMP and considered the PDMP to be an effective system. In addition, many of the officers reported that their communication had increased with prescribers and pharmacists because of the PDMP. These findings notwithstanding, some officers noted a few barriers/limitations of the PDMP such as “false negatives” and an inability to check another state’s PDMP as areas for improvement. Study limitations and implications are also discussed.

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Fourth Amendment Protections of Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs: Patient Privacy in the Opioid Crisis

American Journal of Law & Medicine ◽

10.1177/0098858820975531 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 46 (4) ◽

pp. 375-411

Author(s):

Ryan Knox

Keyword(s):

Law Enforcement ◽

Prescription Drug ◽

Drug Monitoring ◽

The State ◽

Patient Privacy ◽

Reasonable Expectation ◽

Opioid Crisis ◽

Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs ◽

Search Warrant ◽

Reasonable Expectation Of Privacy

The opioid crisis is one of the largest public health problems in the history of the United States. Prescription drug monitoring programs (“PDMPs”)—state databases containing the records of all prescriptions for controlled substances written in the state—have emerged as a means to track opioid prescribing and use. While PDMPs are typically used as a tool for physicians to inform their prescribing practices, many states also permit law enforcement to access PDMPs when investigating controlled substance distribution, often without prior judicial approval. Such law enforcement use of PDMPs raises serious questions of patient privacy. The Fourth Amendment protects individuals from unreasonable searches and seizures where they have a reasonable expectation of privacy and has been interpreted to require law enforcement have probable cause and a search warrant before infringing upon an individual’s reasonable expectation of privacy. Several courts have held that patients have no reasonable expectation of privacy, or a severely diminished expectation of privacy, in their prescription drug records held in PDMPs. As support, courts rely on the third-party doctrine because the information is disclosed to physicians and then held by the state; the highly regulated nature of the prescription drug industry; and the statutory framework of the Controlled Substances Act. Such analysis disregards patients’ expectation of privacy in their personal health information, the confidentiality in the physician-patient relationship, and the resulting patient incentives not to seek care. Therefore, this Article argues that law enforcement must have probable cause and a search warrant to access PDMPs because the exceptions to the Fourth Amendment’s probable cause and warrant requirements do not apply.

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Strengths and Weaknesses of Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs: A Focus Group Assessment of Law Enforcement Officers

Deviant Behavior ◽

10.1080/01639625.2017.1286176 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 39 (5) ◽

pp. 576-586 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Molly M. Block ◽

Gennaro F. Vito ◽

George E. Higgins

Keyword(s):

Law Enforcement ◽

Focus Group ◽

Prescription Drug ◽

Drug Monitoring ◽

Law Enforcement Officers ◽

Group Assessment ◽

Monitoring Programs ◽

Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs

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Law Enforcement Perceptions of a Prescription Drug Monitoring Programme

International Journal of Police Science & Management ◽

10.1350/ijps.2014.16.4.347 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 16 (4) ◽

pp. 288-296 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

S. E. Wixson ◽

K. Blumenschein ◽

A. Goodin ◽

G. E. Higgins ◽

G. F. Vito ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Law Enforcement ◽

Prescription Drug ◽

Drug Monitoring ◽

Monitoring Programme

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The Role of Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs (PDMPs) in Addressing the Opioid Overdose Epidemic

A Public Health Guide to Ending the Opioid Epidemic ◽

10.1093/oso/9780190056810.003.0022 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 265-292 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Grant Baldwin ◽

Jan L. Losby ◽

Wesley M. Sargent ◽

Jamie Mells ◽

Sarah Bacon

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Law Enforcement ◽

Prescription Drug ◽

Drug Monitoring ◽

Prescribing Patterns ◽

Opioid Overdose ◽

Monitoring Programs ◽

Stewardship Program ◽

Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs ◽

Law Enforcement Officials

Prescription drug monitoring programs (PDMPs) are secure, online, state-based databases that contain information about controlled substance prescriptions written by clinicians and dispensed by pharmacists within a jurisdiction. In this chapter, current and future trends impacting PDMPs are reviewed and the implication of these trends for the future development of even more effective PDMPs is discussed. Uses of PDMPs by public health partners are also reviewed. For example, law enforcement officials may use data collected by PDMPs when investigating unusual prescribing patterns. Law enforcement officials may also use PMDP data in drug courts and other criminal diversion programs. Medical licensing boards use PMDP data to assess aberrant prescribing practices. Health systems, insurers, and public health officials use aggregated PDMP data as part of their efforts to evaluate a quality improvement initiative, an opioid stewardship program to improve opioid prescribing system-wide, or broad changes to prescribing patterns across a city, county, or state.

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Privacy Protections and Law Enforcement Use of Prescription Drug Monitoring Databases

10.31219/osf.io/ha6wv ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Anne Boustead

Keyword(s):

Law Enforcement ◽

Prescription Drug ◽

Police Officers ◽

Drug Monitoring ◽

Healthcare Professionals ◽

Present Evidence ◽

Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs ◽

Problematic Drug ◽

Seeking Behavior ◽

Protection Mechanisms

Prescription drug monitoring programs (PDMPs) are databases designed to help healthcare professionals identify problematic drug-seeking behavior from patients. PDMPs can also be used by police officers to obtain evidence, raising concerns about exposure of sensitive health information. In this paper, I describe the approaches that states have taken to regulate law enforcement access to PDMPs, and present evidence that some but not all protection mechanisms are associated with fewer law enforcement requests for PDMP information. This research provides novel and important information about law enforcement behavior in response to privacy protections.

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Impact of prescription drug monitoring program mandate on postoperative opioid prescriptions in children

Pediatric Surgery International ◽

10.1007/s00383-020-04846-2 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Christina M. Theodorou ◽

Jordan E. Jackson ◽

Ganesh Rajasekar ◽

Miriam Nuño ◽

Kaeli J. Yamashiro ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Time Series ◽

Time Series Analysis ◽

Prescription Drug ◽

Drug Monitoring ◽

Monitoring Program ◽

Interrupted Time Series ◽

Surgical Patients ◽

Interrupted Time Series Analysis ◽

Opioid Prescription ◽

Series Analysis

Abstract Purpose Prescription drug monitoring programs (PDMPs) have been established to combat the opioid epidemic, but there is no data on their efficacy in children. We hypothesized that a statewide PDMP mandate would be associated with fewer opioid prescriptions in pediatric surgical patients. Methods Patients < 18 undergoing inguinal hernia repair, orchiopexy, orchiectomy, appendectomy, or cholecystectomy at a tertiary children’s hospital were included. The primary outcome, discharge opioid prescription, was compared for 10 months pre-PDMP (n = 158) to 10 months post-PDMP (n = 228). Interrupted time series analysis was performed to determine the effect of the PDMP on opioid prescribing. Results Over the 20-month study period, there was an overall decrease in the rate of opioid prescriptions per month (− 3.6% change, p < 0.001). On interrupted time series analysis, PDMP implementation was not associated with a significant decrease in the monthly rate of opioid prescriptions (1.27% change post-PDMP, p = 0.4). However, PDMP implementation was associated with a reduction in opioid prescriptions of greater than 5 days’ supply (− 2.7% per month, p = 0.03). Conclusion Opioid prescriptions declined in pediatric surgical patients over the study time period. State-wide PDMP implementation was associated with a reduction in postoperative opioid prescriptions of more than 5 days’ duration.

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