About the Prescription Monitoring Program (PMP)

Prescription Monitoring Program (PMP) Act 676 of the 2006 Louisiana Legislature authorized the Louisiana Board of Pharmacy to develop, implement and operate an electronic system for the monitoring of controlled substances and other drugs of concern dispensed in the state or dispensed to an address within the state. The goal of the program is to improve the state’s ability to identify and inhibit the diversion of controlled substances and other drugs of concern in an efficient and cost-effective manner and in a manner that shall not impede the appropriate utilization of these drugs for legitimate medical purposes.

To assist the Board of Pharmacy, the enabling legislation created the PMP Advisory Council. The council consists of 25 member organizations representing the professional membership organizations of all prescribers and dispensers, the regulatory agencies monitoring those prescribers and dispensers, substance abuse treatment professionals, and law enforcement professionals representing federal, state, and local agencies. The legislation enumerates the duties of the council, which shall provide information and advice regarding the development and operation of the electronic monitoring system.

The program requires dispensers (pharmacies as well as other practitioners dispensing to their patients) of controlled substances and other drugs of concern to report the essential data elements of those transactions to the program. The program houses the data in a secure database and makes that information available to authorized users – primarily prescribers and dispenses caring for their own patients. Regulatory agencies monitoring prescribers and dispensers also have access to that information. Law enforcement agencies may also access that information, provided they have acquired the appropriate administrative warrants or other judicial documents.

The legislature has not appropriated any funds for the operation of the program; rather, the operational expenditures are funded through the annual collection of a service fee levied on the following prescribers and dispensers of controlled substances: physicians, podiatrists, dentists, optometrists, advance practice registered nurses, physician assistants, medical psychologists, as well as every pharmacy licensed by the Board of Pharmacy. Veterinarians were specifically excluded. This PMP fee shall not exceed $25 and is collected at the time of renewal of the Controlled Dangerous Substance (CDS) License, which is also issued by the Board of Pharmacy. In the event the legislature sees fit to appropriate full funding for the program, then no fees shall be collected from the prescribers or dispensers. Last update: 04-15-2009.