Colorado’s Prescription Drug Monitoring Program
The electronic Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PDMP) is a secure database that provides objective information about patients’ controlled substance prescription records to assist Colorado healthcare providers in offering appropriate treatment to their patients. The PDMP was enacted into law in 2005, in part, to reduce prescription drug abuse. The PDMP program was renewed for an additional ten years during the 2011 legislative session.
The PDMP database provides dentists with vital information to make informed decisions about prescribing a controlled substance. Registering to use the PDMP tool is free, and required for all dentists who posess an active DEA registration . You can register at http://www.hidinc.com/copdmp/ using your dental license number and other key pieces of identifying information. To A tutorial video on the registration process can be viewed by clicking here. For questions about the PDMP registration process, you may contact the PDMP helpdesk at 1-855-263-6403.
Once you have registered and logged into the system, you can view a patient’s controlled substance prescription history.
Look for more information about the PDMP program in the Summer 2011 CDA Journal.
Compliance: New Prescribing Notification Requirements
Starting July 1, 2011, healthcare professionals who prescribe controlled substances, including dentists, must notify any patient who gets a prescription for a controlled substance that the patient’s identifying information will be entered into the PDMP database. It’s important to note that the patient notification requirement exists regardless of whether or not you, as a prescriber, choose to use the PDMP database.
Your options to comply with the new notification requirements are broad. A few of the ways you can comply include:
- verbally notifying patients of the database when you prescribe a controlled substance,
- asking patients to sign a consent form (like HIPAA) that informs them of the database during the registration/check-in process at your office, or
- stamping or printing a disclaimer on the prescription pad about the PDMP database.
The CDA is offering sample forms and labels with notification language to members.
Login to download helpful compliance tools below.