Alaska Nurse Practitioners Barriers to Use of Prescription Drug Monitoring Program

Abstract

Prescription drug monitoring programs (PDMPs) are still in their infancy but have begun to demonstrate themselves as potentially useful tools to enhance safe and responsible prescribing of controlled substances. However, little is known about how Nurse Practitioners (NPs) use these programs and the potential barriers they face. The purpose of this project was to describe Alaskan Nurse Practitioner’s (NPs) current practice, beliefs, and barriers regarding the use of the Alaska PDMP. A questionnaire was sent to 635 Alaskan Advanced Nurse Practitioners and a total of 204 valid questionnaires were returned. The survey results provided data regarding prescribing habits, barriers to the use of the PDMP, and barriers registering for the PDMP, as well as opinions on items that could make the PDMP easier to use and more useful in clinical practice. It was found that more attention is needed to maximize its exposure and incorporation into daily workflow if it is to achieve its full potential for reducing drug misuse and abuse while increasing patient safety. Additional consideration should be given to authorizing registered users to delegate authority to a licensed person on their staff to access the PDMP in an attempt to reduce time commitments and increase its usage. Many providers felt that assigning each individual a unique patient identifier could prevent consumers from filling prescriptions under aliases or using multiple addresses, which undermines the effectiveness of the PDMP. Finally, an overwhelming majority of users want faster data entry and proactive reports. This project begins the exploration of the differences between PDMP users and nonusers and how NPs believe the process can be improved. A better understanding PDMP use will aide providers in safe prescribing practices while curbing the prescription drug epidemic and ultimately reducing abuse, misuse, and death from overdose.