Maryland PDMP Now Providing Out-of-State Data Access

The Maryland Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PDMP) announced that access to out-of-state PDMP data began on August 3.  PDMP data from other states is available to registered Maryland PDMP clinical users through Chesapeake Regional Information System for our Patients (CRISP), the health information exchange serving Maryland and the District of Columbia. A new clinical user interface tab within the CRISP Clinical Query Portal, called ‘Interstate PDMP’, has been developed in response to user feedback aimed at enabling providers to more easily view and analyze this data for clinical decision making (instructions are available at this site.  Users have the ability to view the data in a sortable table and print the information as a PDF.

Out-of-state data access will begin with Virginia, expanding to other neighboring states and states of interest. Maryland connects to other state PDMPs through PMP InterConnect (PMPi), an interstate data sharing hub hosted by the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP) in conjunction with its IT partner, Appriss. PMPi allows each state to configure connections with other individual states at the user role level, ensuring compliance with home state statutes, regulations, and policies. Also, coming in the near future will be the ability to view and print the Maryland PDMP information within the same ‘Interstate PDMP’ tab’s view and format as the out-of-state PDMP data.

Authorized by state law in 2011, Maryland’s PDMP was created to support healthcare providers and their patients in the safe and effective use of prescription drugs. Nearly every state in the country now has a PDMP. Maryland’s program is administered by the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DHMH), Behavioral Health Administration. The PDMP law requires pharmacies and healthcare practitioners that dispense Schedule II-V controlled dangerous substances (CDS) to electronically report prescription information to the PDMP. The PDMP securely stores the data and makes it available to healthcare providers to support patient care. Maryland providers currently able to view Maryland PDMP data, including CDS prescribers (e.g. physicians, dentists, nurse practitioners, physician assistants and podiatrists), pharmacists, and their licensed health care professional delegates (e.g. nurses, pharmacy techs, social workers, etc), do not need to make any changes to their currently active CRISP account in order to view out-of-state PDMP data. Providers not yet registered with CRISP to access PDMP data may complete the process on the CRISP website.

More information about the Maryland PDMP can be found on the Program’s webpage, or by contacting dhmh.pdmp@maryland.gov, or 410-402-8686. For more information on how Maryland is battling our region’s substance abuse epidemic, visit the DHMH Overdose Prevention page.

From August 10 MedChi News