Monitor Your Patients’
Opioid Medication Use

Using the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program to Improve Patient Safety

The Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PDMP) is an online database that tracks prescriptions for controlled medications. It can help indicate if a patient is at risk for misuse, addiction or overdose by showing whether they have obtained multiple prescriptions from different clinicians or if they are receiving dangerous opioid dosages or combinations of medications.4

Featuring Daniel P. Alford, MD, MPH, FACP

Find Your State’s PDMP

U.S. PDMP map
US State Dispensing Rates per 100 persons, 20229
> 55 prescriptions
45-54.9 prescriptions
35-44.9 prescriptions
< 35 prescriptions
*No data is available for US territories.
US State Dispensing Rates per 100 persons, 20229
> 55 prescriptions
45-54.9 prescriptions
35-44.9 prescriptions
< 35 prescriptions
*No data is available for US territories.

*Funding for this initiative was made possible (in part) by grant no. 1H79TI085588 from SAMHSA. It was originally funded by the FDA of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of financial assistance award U18FD004593. The views expressed on this website do not necessarily reflect the official policies of the HHS; nor does mention of trade names, commercial practices, or organizations imply endorsement by the FDA/HHS or the U.S. Government.

References
  1. Provisional Drug Overdose Death Counts. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/vsrr/drug-overdose-data.htm Drug Overdose Deaths in the United States, 1999–2020. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db428.htm
  2. Vowles KE, McEntee ML, Julnes PS, Frohe T, Ney JP, van der Goes DN. Rates of opioid misuse, abuse, and addiction in chronic pain: a systematic review and data synthesis. Pain. 2015;156(4):569-576.
  3. Guideline Recommendations and Guiding Principles. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website. https://www.cdc.gov/overdose-prevention/hcp/clinical-guidance/recommendations-and-principles.html
  4. Prescription drug monitoring programs (PDMPs). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website. https://www.cdc.gov/overdose-prevention/hcp/clinical-guidance/prescription-drug-monitoring-programs.html
  5. PDMP policies and practices. Prescription Drug Monitoring Program Training and Technical Assistance Center website. Accessed August 6, 2021. https://www.pdmpassist.org/Policies
  6. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Key substance use and mental health indicators in the United States: Results from the 2022 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. https://www.samhsa.gov/data/sites/default/files/reports/rpt42731/2022-nsduh-nnr.pdf
  7. Jones CM. Heroin use and heroin use risk behaviors among nonmedical users of prescription opioid pain relievers—United States, 2002-2004 and 2008-2010. Drug Alcohol Depend. 2013;132(1-2):95-100.
  8. Opioid Overdose Death Rates and All Drug Overdose Death Rates per 100,000 Population (Age-Adjusted). KFF. https://www.kff.org/other/state-indicator/opioid-overdose-death-rates/?activeTab=graph&currentTimeframe=0&startTimeframe=4&selectedDistributions=opioid-overdose-death-rate-age-adjusted&selectedRows=%7B%22states%22:%7B%22all%22:%7B%7D%7D,%22wrapups%22:%7B%22united-states%22:%7B%7D%7D%7D&sortModel=%7B%22colId%22:%22Location%22,%22sort%22:%22asc%22%7D
  9. Opioid Dispensing Rate Maps. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website.  https://www.cdc.gov/overdose-prevention/data-research/facts-stats/opioid-dispensing-rate-maps.html?CDC_AAref_Val=https://www.cdc.gov/drugoverdose/rxrate-maps/opioid.html