On May 11, the state’s powerful budget writing Joint Finance Committee took action on several areas of the state budget, including a provision that would further clarify the ability of a prescriber’s agent to review a patient’s record in Wisconsin’s Enhanced Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (ePDMP). The budget amendment would make it clear that a practitioner’s agent, on behalf of a prescribing practitioner, can fulfill the requirement that a patient’s ePDMP record be checked before prescribing a monitored drug.
Aligning the PDMP review requirements with accepted practices of agency and delegation was a priority of WHA and the WHA Physician Leaders Council to relieve unnecessary compliance burden with the PDMP mandate.
The amendment was put forward by Rep. John Nygren (R-Marinette), lead author of the Heroin, Opioid, Prevention and Education (HOPE) agenda to further clarify his intent that individuals supporting a prescribing practitioner are able to assist prescribers in using the ePDMP as a decision-making tool. The amendment passed unanimously by the Joint Finance Committee and will likely be included in the final version of the state budget presented to Gov. Scott Walker in the coming months.
WHA, several other member organizations and the Wisconsin Medical Society provided testimony to the Controlled Substance Board (CSB) May 12 requesting additional clarification to regulations created by the board in emergency rule regarding the ePDMP mandate in Wisconsin. These
comments focus on facilitating EHR integration and providing regulatory clarity regarding the review mandate to achieve a maximally functioning PDMP system that is carefully tailored to balance and recognize impacts on care delivery efficiency, clinical efficacy and quality of care, and the professional medical judgment of physicians and other prescribers.
For additional questions about the Joint Finance Committee’s action as well as the recommendations proposed to the CSB, contact Matthew Stanford, WHA general counsel, at
mstanford@wha.org.