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Mar 2024
Protect Your Patients and Your Practice: How to Comply with the Texas PMP Mandate
The Texas Prescription Monitoring Program (PMP) is a patient care tool to help inform prescribing practices and address prescription drug misuse, diversion and overdose. In March 2020, the Texas Legislature mandated that physicians check the Texas PMP before prescribing opioids, benzodiazepines, barbiturates or carisoprodol.
Here is what you need to know to comply with the mandate:
Know when to check the PMP.
The mandate applies to all Texas physicians and all outpatient and discharge prescriptions of opioids, benzodiazepines, barbiturates or carisoprodol no matter the duration of the prescription. Patients who are diagnosed with cancer and are terminally ill under hospice care are exempt.
Review the full PMP patient report.
When a patient’s record is accessed, some integrated electronic health records show only a patient score, rather than a full report. However, viewing the patient score alone is not enough to comply with the mandated PMP lookup requirement. To comply with the mandate, physicians must review a full controlled substance history report for every patient, every time.
Document PMP review.
Per the Texas Medical Board, “Each time the patient’s PMP history is accessed, the physician or advanced practice provider must ensure that the review is documented in the patient’s medical record.”
In the three years since the mandate took effect, the number of physicians registered to use the Texas PMP has increased from 54 percent to 84 percent of eligible physicians. Thank you for the important role you play in preventing prescription drug misuse and overdose in your community.
Explore opportunities to learn more about the Texas PMP and earn Continuing Medical Education credit at txpmp.org
