The St. Louis County Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PDMP) launched in April 2017 as a clinical care tool to improve controlled-substance prescribing and inform clinical practice. The St. Louis County PDMP monitors the prescribing and dispensing of schedule II-IV controlled substances and allows doctors and pharmacists to review a patient’s controlled substance prescription history to assist in identification and prevention of prescription drug misuse and abuse.
As Missouri is the only state without a statewide PDMP, St. Louis County started a local PDMP with the opportunity for other jurisdictions to join the program. As of October 2019, there are 75 participating jurisdictions covering 85% of the state’s population and 94% of the state’s prescribers.
Any physician prescribing controlled substances is encouraged to create an account in the PDMP and review their patient’s controlled substance prescription history before initiating, continuing, or changing medications.
To create an account, visit https://missouri.pmpaware.net, and click ‘Create an Account.’ You will be asked to provide personal and professional information, including a copy of your medical license. Once your account has been approved, you can delegate access to the PDMP. Delegates (RNs, LPNs, MAs, etc.) must create their own account under a supervisory provider by also visiting https://missouri.pmpaware.net and creating an account.
Once your account has been approved, the PDMP can be used as part of patient care. After logging into the PDMP, you can review a patient’s prescription history by clicking MenuàRxSearchàPatient Request. You must enter some patient information (name, date of birth, etc.), select the timeframe of prescriptions you want to review (up to 2 years), and can query other states to view out of state prescription information, if applicable. The resulting report will display all schedule II-IV controlled substances your patient has filled from all providers, regardless of payment method. Currently, the St. Louis County PDMP is sharing information with Arkansas, Illinois, Kansas, and Oklahoma.
In the patient report, you will see patient, prescription, prescriber, and dispenser information. A summary box gives a high-level overview of the report. The summary box will also detail the patient’s current opioid quantity, morphine milligram equivalent (MME), and average MME for the previous 30 days. Buprenorphine is separated from other opioids.
The PDMP is designed to inform clinical practice and improve prescribing by providing a more complete picture of a patient’s prescriptions across multiple providers and settings. There is a ‘Multiple Provider Alert’ in the PDMP that triggers when a patient fills prescriptions written by 3+ prescribers that are filled at 3+ pharmacies within 6 months. This alert is intended to be used to initiate a conversation with your patient about their medical needs and potentially re-assessing their treatment plan.
To access the PDMP, visit https://missouri.pmpaware.net. For additional information on the St. Louis County PDMP, visit www.stlouisco.com/PDMP or contact PDMP.DPH@stlouisco.com or 314-615-0522.
