A prescription drug monitoring program, data sharing, and upholding states’ rights under the United States Constitution

Abuse of physician prescribed opioids contributes to health and economic burdens associated with dependency, overdose, and death. Since the 1900s, the United States (U.S.) Congress has legislated use and misuse of controlled substances. Under the U.S. Constitution, states developed prescription drug monitoring programs (PDMPs) that determine how the program is managed, what data to track, and what information to share with other states. Lack of a standard data set that allows providers to see prescribing data for designated controlled substances across state lines, limits benefits of state PDMPs. A federal PDMP with a standard minimal set of variables shared across states could enhance patient care. States would exercise their police powers while sharing standard data to decrease adverse consequences of the opioid epidemic.