Optimizing Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs to Support Law Enforcement Activities

This grant is funded under NIJ's Research on Illegal Prescription Drug Market Interventions solicitation, which supports the examination of the utility of policies, practices, and resources available to law enforcement for major crime deterrence, prosecution, and other market intervention--specifically under the objective Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PDMP) Optimization for Law Enforcement. The goals of this project are to evaluate PDMP features and practices to identify those with greatest utility for law enforcement and prosecution. Objectives include: comparing legislation, features, and procedures for select PDMPs; analyzing access and utilization for investigative and prosecutorial activities; analyzing perceived impact of reports on those activities; and identifying optimal key features and practices. Methods include: building on information collected by clearinghouses including the National Alliance for Model State Drug Laws; interviewing PMDP managers; and examining law enforcement users and un/solicited reports in seven States; conducting an online survey of law enforcement and prosecutors in seven States on perceived utility; and conducting focus groups of law enforcement and State prosecutors in four States (KY, OH, IN, WV) to identify key features. The proposed online survey entails: RedCAP software that is secure, tested, and flexible format; a sampleframe of law enforcement with active PMDP access; and survey items on PDMP data fields, quality, and currency, reporting format, access, data sharing, casebuilding, case disposition, and improvement suggestions. Sites selected for regional focus on the four Appalachian States but also include: OK which has real-time reporting, NV which has a history of unsolicited reports, and MA which has online report access. Focus group designs include plans for 7-12 participants per State with monetary participation incentive. Planned analyses include: ANOVA to examine differences between States in survey responses; regression models to examine State PMDP features on responses; and focus group content analysis by multiple coders. In addition to the data and written deliverables required by NIJ, anticipated work products include professional conference presentations, manuscripts for submission to professional journals, local stakeholder briefing materials; and a briefing to NIJ. This project has the potential to promote efficient investigation and prosecution of prescription drug diversion through PDMP enhancement. ca/ncf