A study published in the online edition of Health Affairs today showed that the prescription drug monitoring programs implemented in 49 of the 50 states have resulted in fewer opioid-related overdoses.
The
average decrease in overdose deaths was 1.12 per 100,000 patients.
The retrospective review "Implementation of Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs Associated With Reductions in Opioid-Related Death Rates" by Stephen Patrick and Carrie Fry of Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Melinda Buntin of Vanderbilt University Medical Center and Timothy Jones, State Epidemiologist for the Tennessee Department of Health, revealed that all states that implemented the monitoring programs saw a reduced rate of overdoses. The only state that did not participate, Missouri, did not show a reduction in overdose rates.
The study also showed that states with monitoring programs that included a larger number of prescription drugs and were updated at least once per week had a better success rate. The increased monitoring resulted in 1.55 fewer overdose deaths per 100,000 patients.
The study's authors estimated that if all states, including Missouri, implemented the increased monitoring model, the program would prevent an additional two deaths per day.
The National Institutes of Health's National Institute on Drug Abuse funded the study. The study data was taken from numerous public sources.
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