Strengths and Weaknesses of Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs: A Focus Group Assessment of Law Enforcement Officers

ABSTRACT

This study describes how prescription drug monitoring programs (PDMPs) are used and identifies the strengths and weakness found in the four PDMPs studied. Focus groups were conducted with law enforcement officers in four states. The results indicate that making it easier to obtain information from the systems in other states or establishing a regional (or national) system would improve and speed investigations. The study also found that officers felt that PDMP systems should be made more proactive to “red flag” offenders and provide evidence of “doctor shopping” by those who may fall outside the normal range of prescription patterns.

Additional information

Funding

Respondents from three of the states, Kentucky, Ohio and West Virginia, did not know the source of their PDMPs’ funding. However, the officers from all three states were unanimous in that pharmaceutical companies should be considered as a funding source. Alternatively, the respondents from Indiana knew how their PDMP is funded and had some reservation about relying purely on pharmaceutical companies as a source of funding. The cost of the INSPECT system comes from the Indiana legislature. The officers remarked that it is necessary to keep legislators informed of the value of the INSPECT system to insure this funding continues. The respondents expressed willingness to continue these efforts but also saw the worthiness of establishing a fee to support the system. However, they also expressed reservations that such a fee would be passed along to consumers of prescription drugs.

Notes on contributors

Molly M. Block

MOLLY M. BLOCK is a Visiting Assistant Professor in the Department of Government and Justice Studies at Appalachian State University. She received her Ph.D. in Criminal Justice from the University of Louisville in 2016. Her research interests include environmental criminology, terrorism, and substance abuse.

Gennaro F. Vito

GENNARO F. VITO is a Professor and Chair in the Department of Criminal Justice at the University of Louisville. He also serves as a faculty member in the Administrative Officer’s Course at the Southern Police Institute. He holds a Ph.D. in Public Administration from The Ohio State University. Active in professional organizations, he is a past President and Fellow of the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences and recipient of its Bruce Smith Award. He has published on such topics as: capital sentencing, police consolidation, police traffic stops, policing strategies for drug problems in public housing, attitudes toward capital punishment, and the effectiveness of criminal justice programs, such as drug elimination programs, drug courts, and drug testing of probationers and parolees. He is to co-author of nine textbooks in criminal justice and criminology including Criminology: Theory, Research, and Practice (Jones & Bartlett, 2015).

George E. Higgins

GEORGE E. HIGGINS is a Professor in the Department of Justice Administration at the University of Louisville. He received his Ph.D. in Criminology from Indiana University of Pennsylvania in 2001. He is the current editor of the Journal of Criminal Justice Education. His most recent publications appear or are forthcoming in Journal of Criminal Justice, Criminal Justice and Behavior, Justice Quarterly, Deviant Behavior, and Youth and Society.