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Home > Data & Research > Prescription Monitoring Program > For Treatment Providers

Information for Treatment Providers

OSA designed and implemented the Prescription Monitoring Program to be an intervention and prevention tool in patient care. When a prescriber obtains a report and finds reason to believe a patient has a substance abuse problem they may refer that patient on to a treatment facility. OSA encourages such use of the program and outlines some steps for prescribers to take (when dealing with a patient who appears to have a substance abuse problem) in the Treatment Brochure featured on the Prescriber Page.

Because of the program's design and intent, treatment providers will likely see more referrals from practitioners as patients are confronted with their problem and directed towards the help they need. So if a new client comes in and mentions "being on a list" or "my doctor got a report on me" you can assume the client exceeded one of OSA's thresholds or their prescriber chose to monitor them with the program.

Treatment Medical Staff (prescribers) may also access the PMP data as a way to monitor their clients to make sure they are not obtaining prescriptions from other doctors. However, at this time there are certain criteria that impact how prescribers in a treatment setting can access PMP information.The paragraph below outlines those criteria.

Treatment Medical Staff (Prescriber) Access

Treatment Medical Staff (prescribers) do have access to Prescription Monitoring Program data. However, treatment facilities are subject to Federal Regulation 42 CFR which prohibits certain disclosures of protected health information. This means that prescribers who want information on a treatment patient they serve would need to fall into one of the following situations to comply with 42 CFR.

  • Obtain written consent from the patient authorizing the prescriber to use the PMP for monitoring.
  • If the prescriber has another medical place of business not associated with the treatment facility (where they work) they can access information from that address to ensure patient confidentiality in regards to being in a treatment program.
  • Or, the prescriber works at a treatment facility that is part of a larger organization that is not treatment affiliated, the prescriber can register under the name and address of the larger organization (example: a medical staff person at a treatment agency that is part of a hospital registers under the larger, overaching hospital, not under the treatment program name).

For additional prescriber information such as brochures and a privacy guide please visit our Prescriber Page.

 

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