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For Immediate Release
Contact: Alicia
Bork
Second Report from Controlled
Substances Board Continues to Show Drop in Opioid Prescriptions
More than 11 million fewer opioid
doses dispensed in Q4 2016 compared to Q4 2015
Madison, WI – Today, the Department of Safety and
Professional Services (DSPS) announced the findings of the second report from
the Controlled Substances Board (CSB) on the success of the Wisconsin
Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PDMP). The report highlights that between
October 1 and December 31, 2016, the number of opioid doses dispensed decreased
by over 11 million when compared to the same quarter in 2015.
“This report indicates our efforts throughout Wisconsin to
fight prescription drug abuse and misuse are working,” Governor Walker said.
“We remain committed to creating a safe state for all our citizens, and we will
not stop until the number of opioid overdose deaths in Wisconsin is down to
zero.”
There were 1,261,095 opioid prescriptions dispensed in
Wisconsin between October 1 and December 31, 2015, which is equivalent to
82,874,267 drug doses. The CSB report shows that between October 1 and December
31 of 2016, there was an 11.7 percent reduction in opioid prescriptions and a
13.3 percent reduction in drug doses dispensed when compared to quarter four in
2015. Additionally, in comparison to the CSB’s first report released in
October, there were 3,142,961 fewer opioid doses dispensed in quarter four 2016
than in quarter three 2016.
The report also includes information on the number of
requests for data made by health care professionals about their patients, the
number and makeup of reports submitted by law enforcement, and data on doctor
shopping and pharmacy hopping. It further provides information on the number of
individuals receiving both opioids and benzodiazepine prescriptions.
“The PDMP is a program that we are incredibly proud of,”
said DSPS Acting Secretary Eric Esser. “We are hopeful that with the tools
available in the new enhanced PDMP, we continue to enable healthcare
professionals to make informed prescribing decisions.”
The Wisconsin PDMP was deployed in June 2013 and is
administered by DSPS. Since its inception, the PDMP has primarily been a tool
to help healthcare professionals make more informed decisions about prescribing
and dispensing controlled substance prescriptions to patients. It also
discloses data as authorized by law to governmental and law enforcement
agencies. It stores over 48 million prescription records submitted by over
2,000 pharmacies and dispensing practitioners, with an average of nearly 5,000
queries performed each day.
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Click here for a copy of the Controlled Substances Board report.
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