Bill Text: VA SJR285 | 2017 | Regular Session | Engrossed
Bill Title: Study; Joint Commission on Health Care; sustainability of the Prescription Monitoring Program.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2017-02-21 - Left in Rules [SJR285 Detail]
Download: Virginia-2017-SJR285-Engrossed.html
WHEREAS, the Prescription Monitoring Program (the PMP) collects prescription data for Schedule II-IV drugs into a central database that can then be used to deter illegitimate use of prescription drugs by allowing limited authorized users to query the database for assistance in determining treatment history and identifying patients who attempt to acquire controlled substances from multiple doctors simultaneously; and
WHEREAS, the PMP was initially authorized as a pilot program in 2002 within the Department of Health Professions (DHP) to address a significant problem with prescription drug abuse in southwest Virginia and was subsequently established as a statewide program in 2006; and
WHEREAS, the number of queries made to the PMP database have increased from 433,000 in 2010 to over 5 million in 2016; and
WHEREAS, the PMP has over 35,000 active users, with prescribers and pharmacists making 99 percent of all requests; and
WHEREAS, the PMP is now interoperable with 21 other states' PMPs, including the border states of Tennessee, Kentucky, West Virginia, and Maryland; and
WHEREAS, the PMP has deployed an integration solution with 62 pharmacies in Virginia that better provides pharmacists access to PMP data within their existing workflow, and efforts are underway to expand integration to electronic medical records applications and other pharmacy software applications throughout the Commonwealth; and
WHEREAS, the PMP has greatly increased the usefulness of its information for health care providers by adding Morphine Milligram Equivalency information, automated registration, the ability of users to authorize persons to assist in retrieving PMP data, and general technological improvements; and
WHEREAS, the PMP is currently tasked with greatly increasing its analysis of prescription data to (i) inform prescribers of their prescribing practices and of their patients who may be inappropriately obtaining medications from other prescribers, (ii) provide information to law enforcement on unusual use of controlled substances by citizens or to licensing boards for unusual prescribing or dispensing occurrences, and (iii) evaluate the impact of policy initiatives; and
WHEREAS, the PMP was originally funded by federal grants and existing court settlement funds held by DHP and does not use general funds or license fees for funding; and
WHEREAS, since 2007, the PMP has been funded solely by money from a court settlement with the Purdue Frederick Company, Inc., of $20 million, but the PMP can longer operate solely on interest earned from this account because less than $17 million of the original settlement remains; and
WHEREAS, despite decreased funding, the PMP is being tasked with providing an increased level of service for all users; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the Joint Commission on Health Care be directed to study the sustainability of the Prescription Monitoring Program.
In conducting its study, [ JCHC the
Joint Commission on Health Care (JCHC) ] shall study the sustainability of the
PMP and identify potential funding sources for its future operation.
All agencies of the Commonwealth shall provide assistance to JCHC for this study, upon request.
The Joint Commission on Health Care shall complete its meetings by November 30, 2017, and the chairman shall submit to the Division of Legislative Automated Systems an executive summary of its findings and recommendations no later than the first day of the 2018 Regular Session of the General Assembly. The executive summary shall state whether JCHC intends to submit to the General Assembly and the Governor a report of its findings and recommendations for publication as a House or Senate document. The executive summary and report shall be submitted as provided in the procedures of the Division of Legislative Automated Systems for the processing of legislative documents and reports and shall be posted on the General Assembly's website.
