Pennsylvania House Passes Bill to Create Electronic Prescription Monitoring Program

A Pennsylvania bill that would create a new prescription monitoring program (PMP) to include Schedule II through V CS has passed the state’s House of Representatives, reports The Bucks County Courier Times. The bill (H 1694), which was approved with overwhelming support in a 191-to-7 vote on October 21, 2013, would require prescription medication dispensers to provide detailed information about CS prescriptions. According to a press release from state Senator Matt Baker, the new PMP would “replace the attorney general’s existing Schedule II database” and will now include Schedule II through V CS. The legislation would also allow pharmacists and other authorized health care providers to access the database in order to better recognize signs of diversion and “doctor shopping,” the press release noted. The current system restricts PMP access to law enforcement officials. Information collected in the new database, which would be administered by the state’s Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs, would include the names of the prescribing physician and patient, the name of the pharmacist or other dispenser, and the drug dosage and source of payment. The bill now heads to the state’s senate for consideration.