Key result
Required use of Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs reduced prescription opioid deaths by 9% and benzodiazepine deaths by 13%, whereas implementation alone had no significant effect.
Why the study?
Does the implementation and required use of Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs reduce prescription drug quantities and related deaths?
Observational
Yes
Does the implementation and required use of Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs reduce prescription drug quantities and related deaths?
Effect estimate: 9% and 13% reduction, respectively
Required use of Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs is associated with significant reductions in prescription opioid and stimulant quantities, as well as opioid and benzodiazepine-related deaths.
May justify mandating PDMP use over voluntary adoption; extends observational evidence but leaves causal effects open to randomized confirmation.
The diversion of controlled prescription drugs can arise through “doctor shopping,” where a patient obtains multiple prescriptions from different health-care providers without the providers' knowledge of the other prescriptions. Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs (PDMPs) aim to address this problem of asymmetric information. In this paper, I exploit cross-state variation in PDMP implementation dates to estimate the effect of PDMPs on drug quantities and deaths. I expand upon previous work by analyzing outcomes for prescription drugs within and outside the opioid class, by considering spillovers into the illegal drug market, and by relying on high-frequency administrative data spanning the years 2000–13. I also estimate the effect of two PDMP characteristics with the potential to narrow information asymmetries among providers: direct PDMP access and required PDMP use. I find that neither PDMP implementation nor direct PDMP access had a significant effect on outcomes. These findings hold across drug classes, drug markets, and specifications. I find evidence, however, suggesting that required PDMP use reduced prescription opioid and stimulant quantities by 9 percent and 11 percent, respectively. In turn, prescription opioid and benzodiazepine deaths decreased by 9 percent and 13 percent, respectively. I also find evidence, albeit weak, suggesting that illegal drug deaths increased.
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Angélica Meinhofer (2017) conducted an observational in Prescription drug abuse and diversion. Required Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PDMP) use vs. No required PDMP use was evaluated on Prescription opioid and benzodiazepine deaths (9% and 13% reduction, respectively). Required use of Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs reduced prescription opioid deaths by 9% and benzodiazepine deaths by 13%, whereas implementation alone had no significant effect.
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