The Massachusetts Medical Society (MMS) appreciates the
opportunity to provide comment on H.1216, “An Act relative to prescription
monitoring program enforcement regulations.” This legislation would require the
Board of Registration in Medicine to discipline physicians not in compliance
with requirements relative to the Prescription Monitoring Program.
Sufficient requirements already exist in current
Massachusetts law to assure physician compliance with requirements for use of
the Prescription Monitoring Program. The Department of Public Health has long
had a Medical Review Group tasked with evaluating data from the Prescription
Monitoring Program. Any suspicious activity, whether concerning prescribing
habits or a lack of compliance with PMP, are forwarded directly to the
appropriate licensing board. The Medical Review Group reports annually to the
legislature with the number of cases it reviewed and forwarded to the Board.
The current centralized Medical Review Group is also preferred because it can
evaluate prescribing information from physicians, nurse practitioners,
physician assistants, podiatrists, certified nurse anesthetists, and certified
nurse midwives, all of whom are mandated to query the PMP, but each of whom
report to different licensing boards.
It is also important to note that the Department of Public
Health issues the Massachusetts Controlled Substance Registration- the state
license that permits prescribing of prescription drugs. This “MCSR” is an
important alternative source of potential enforcement by the DPH. They have the
authority to rescind the MCSR. Between the licensing boards and the DPH, the
Medical Society believes there are already sufficient processes and mechanisms
to ensure full compliance with the Prescription Monitoring Program
requirements.
The MMS urges the legislature to rely on existing mechanisms
for requiring physician compliance with regulations regarding the Prescription
Monitoring Program.
