EVALUATION OF FLORIDA PHYSICIANS' KNOWLEDGE AND ATTITUDES TOWARD ACCESSINGTHE STATE PRESCRIPTION DRUG MONITORING PROGRAM AS A PRESCRIBING TOOL

Finkelstein Auditorium

Objective. This study was conducted to assess Florida physicians' attitudes and knowledge toward accessing the state's prescription drug monitoring program (PDMP). Background. Florida's PDMP collects and stores controlled substance prescribing and dispensing information for schedules II-IV. Florida's PDMP is currently operational; however, physicians are not required to access the program prior to prescribing controlled substances. Methods. Five thousand medical doctors and osteopathic physicians licensed in Florida were randomly selected for a voluntary and anonymous 15 question self-administered survey approved by the Institutional Review Board. Surveys were distributed through U.S. postal service mail. Likert-scale questions were used to assess prior knowledge (1=none to 5=excellent) and attitudes toward accessing the PDMP (1=strongly disagree to 5=strongly agree). Results. The study yielded a response rate of 7.8%. Among participants that have access and answered the PDMP usefulness question, 94.8% agree or strongly agree that it is a useful tool. Sixty-three out of 64 physicians (98.4%) who conducted 25 or more searches agree or strongly agree that the PDMP is a useful tool for monitoring patients' controlled substance histories. Also, 72.5% of participants with access that answered the "doctor shopping" question agreed that “doctor shopping” will decrease. Among the 64 most frequent PDMP users, 69.4% agreed or strongly agreed that they have prescribed fewer controlled substances after accessing the PDMP. Conclusion. A majority of participants believe the PDMP is a useful tool for monitoring patients' controlled substance histories. Grants. This study was fully funded by an HPD internal grant.