The Effect of Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs on Opioid Utilization in Medicare

49 Pages Posted: 13 Feb 2017 Last revised: 30 Sep 2024

See all articles by Tom Buchmueller

Tom Buchmueller

University of Michigan - Stephen M. Ross School of Business

Colleen Carey

Cornell University

Date Written: February 2017

Abstract

The misuse of prescription opioids has become a serious epidemic in the US. In response, states have implemented Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs (PDMPs), which record a patient's opioid prescribing history. While few providers participated in early systems, states have recently begun to require providers to access the PDMP under certain circumstances. We find that "must access" PDMPs significantly reduce measures of misuse in Medicare Part D. In contrast, we find that PDMPs without such provisions have no effect. We find stronger effects when providers are required to access the PDMP under broad circumstances, not only when they are suspicious.

Suggested Citation

Buchmueller, Tom and Carey, Colleen, The Effect of Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs on Opioid Utilization in Medicare (February 2017). NBER Working Paper No. w23148, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2915975

Tom Buchmueller (Contact Author)

University of Michigan - Stephen M. Ross School of Business ( email )

701 Tappan Street
Ann Arbor, MI MI 48109
United States

Colleen Carey

Cornell University ( email )

Ithaca, NY 14853
United States

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