Virginia Governor Kaine Announces $400,000 Federal Grant For 24/7 Access To Prescription Drug Database

Grant supports ER, urgent care centers, and extended-hour pharmacies

August 7, 2007 -- RICHMOND – Virginia Governor Timothy M. Kaine today announced a $400,000 federal grant award that will allow Virginia to expand its efforts to help health care professionals monitor a patient’s prescription drug use.

“This federal grant will enhance our efforts to identify and prevent illegal use of prescription drugs,” Governor Kaine said. “The Prescription Monitoring Program has been a valuable tool, and this expansion will improve its efficacy.”

Currently, doctors and pharmacists can access a patient’s prescription record during normal working hours to get recent treatment history of controlled substances, allowing the physician or pharmacist to determine if a patient is seeing more than one doctor in an effort to obtain multiple prescriptions for controlled substances. The federal grant will allow the Virginia Department of Health Professions (VDHP), which operates the Prescription Monitoring Program (PMP), to provide around-the clock-access, a much needed enhancement, according to VDHP Director Sandra Whitley Ryals.

“Twenty-four-hour-a-day, seven-days-a-week access for authorized users of the program will significantly increase its effectiveness for health care workers in our emergency rooms, urgent care centers, and 24-hour pharmacies,” Ryals said.

Designed to deter prescription drug abuse through “doctor shopping,” the Prescription Monitoring Program started as a pilot project in southwest Virginia in 2003. In 2005, legislation was passed to expand the program to the entire Commonwealth to help detect the misuse, abuse and diversion of Schedule II-IV prescription drugs, such as OxyContin, Vicodin, and Xanax. The program database now holds over 14.6 million prescription records, and has logged nearly 11,000 requests for information so far this year.

The PMP can only be used by limited, authorized users to assist in deterring the illegitimate use of prescription drugs, and strict security and confidentiality measures are enforced. A prescriber must obtain written consent from the patient before submitting an inquiry.

The federal grant is administered by the Bureau of Justice Assistance, Department of Justice, through the Harold Rogers Prescription Drug Monitoring Program. For more information regarding the Prescription Monitoring Program, visit http://www.dhp.state.va.us/dhp_programs/pmp/default.asp.

Source: Virginia Governor