A statewide prescription monitoring program affects emergency department prescribing behaviors.

Study Objective: Ohio recently instituted an online prescription monitoring program, the Ohio Automated Rx Reporting System (OARRS), to monitor controlled substance prescriptions within Ohio. This study is undertaken to identify the influence of OARRS data on clinical management of emergency department (ED) patients with painful conditions.

Methods: This prospective quasiexperimental study was conducted at the University of Toledo Medical Center Emergency Department during June to July 2008.