Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs: Relationships Among Program Awareness, Use, and State Mandates.

The inappropriate use of opioids in the United States has increased markedly and has resulted in a tragic loss of lives. To combat this problem, prescription drug monitoring programs (PDMPs) have been instituted in most states. Use of the programs is voluntary for prescribers in some states, whereas in other states it is mandatory.

Influencing controlled substance prescribing: attending and resident physician use of a state prescription monitoring program.

Objective: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the influence of attending physician awareness and utilization of a state prescription monitoring program on resident physician behavior.

Design: Twenty-five attending physicians and 70 residents in Emergency Medicine, Internal Medicine, Neurology, Pediatrics, and Psychiatry completed an 11-item questionnaire assessing awareness and utilization of a state prescription drug monitoring program.

Results: Residents who used the system had, on average, a higher proportion of supervising attendings using the system; residents required to utilize the system had the highest proportion of attendings using the system.

Awareness and utilization of a prescription monitoring program among physicians.

In 2011, 5 years after the implementation of a statewide prescription monitoring program (PMP) in Ohio, a survey was distributed to physicians in five specialty areas. During the study period, 95 of 156 surveys were returned, for a 61% response rate. The purpose of the questionnaire was to assess utilization rates as well as reasons for accessing the PMP database and any influence the database may have had on prescribing practices.

Understanding locally advanced breast cancer: what influences a woman's decision to delay treatment?

Background: Despite early detection having been identified as a key factor in long-term survival of patients with breast cancer, women with locally advanced breast cancer continued to present at many medical centers.

Methods: Women with locally advanced breast cancer (LABC) (N = 11) and matched controls (N = 11) with Stage I or II breast cancer completed semi-structured interviews and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, Life Orientation Test, Multidimensional Health Locus of Control Scale, Body Investment Scale, Monitor-Blunter Style Scale, and Religious Coping Scale. Five spouses of the LABC group and eight control partners were similarly assessed.