Portman, Klobuchar Introduce Legislation to Require Use of Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs Before Prescribing Powerful Painkillers

Press Release

Today, U.S. Senators Rob Portman (R-OH) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) introduced legislation -- the Prescription Drug Monitoring Act -- to require the use of prescription drug monitoring programs (PDMPs) in all states that received certain federal funding to combat opioid abuse and also require states to make their PDMP data available to other states. Portman and Klobuchar have worked together to combat heroin abuse before, including on the Comprehensive Addiction & Recovery Act signed into law last year and their recently-introduced Synthetics Trafficking & Overdose Prevention (STOP) Act, which is designed to help stop synthetic drugs like fentanyl from being shipped into the United States.

"Four out of five heroin addicts in Ohio and across the country started with prescription painkillers. Too many of these people were prescribed a painkiller by their doctor and became addicted or tried a drug prescribed to someone else," Portman said. "In 2012, there were more opioid prescriptions in Ohio than there were Ohioans, and during just one three-month period, 11 percent of Ohioans were prescribed an opioid painkiller. Since then we've made progress in stopping overprescribing, but the consequences of addiction have only gotten worse. This legislation would help Ohio continue to make progress against overprescribing by keeping better track of prescriptions and ensuring that addiction is discovered and treated as early as possible."

"As a former prosecutor, I have witnessed firsthand the devastation caused by opioid abuse in communities across the country," said Klobuchar. "Our bipartisan legislation would require states to have prescription drug monitoring programs that use best practices, curbing the kind of doctor shopping that facilitates addiction. Last year, I heard about a patient who filled 108 prescriptions for painkillers from more than 85 different prescribers located in 50 cities. We know that opioid addiction too often begins with the abuse of legal prescription painkillers. And with this bill, we can do something about that."

"We applaud Senator Klobuchar for introducing this important legislation to strengthen PDMPs, which are a critical tool in the continuing effort to stop the flood of prescription opioids and prevent overdoses," said Nick Motu, Vice President of the Hazelden Betty Ford Institute for Recovery Advocacy. "Senator Klobuchar's bill is a crucial next step in the fight to end the opioid epidemic and will ultimately save lives."

NOTE: The Prescription Drug Monitoring Act would (1) require drug dispensers in covered states to report to the PDMP each opioid prescription that they dispense to patients within 24 hours; (2) require practitioners in covered states to consult the PDMP before prescribing opioids to patients; and (3) require states to actively notify practitioners when the PDMP shows that a patient exhibits patterns indicative of opioid misuse. To ensure that PDMP data is available across state lines, the bill would also provide for the creation of an inter-state PDMP data-sharing platform and require all covered states to make their individual PDMP data available on this platform.

Portman has led efforts to address this epidemic in the U.S. Senate. His bipartisan Comprehensive Addiction & Recovery Act (CARA), signed into law last year by President Obama authorizes $181 million annually for evidenced-based programs aimed at strengthening prevention, treatment, and recovery services. Portman was also instrumental in securing $1 billion in new funding for state grants to fight opioid abuse in the new 21st Century Cures initiative. This year, Portman and Klobuchar introduced the Synthetics Trafficking & Overdose Prevention (STOP) Act, bipartisan legislation to help stop synthetic drugs like fentanyl and carfentanil from being shipped to drug traffickers here in the United States.

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