Publications
Publications
- August 2020
- American Journal of Public Health
A History of Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs in the United States: Political Appeal and Public Health Efficacy
By: A Jay Holmgren, Alyssa Botelho and Allan M Brandt
Abstract
Prescription drug monitoring programs (PDMPs) have become a widely embraced policy to address the US opioid crisis. Despite mixed scientific evidence on their effectiveness at improving health and reducing overdose deaths, 49 states and Washington, DC have adopted PDMPs, and they have received strong bipartisan legislative support. This article explores the history of PDMPs, tracking their evolution from paper-based administrative databases in the early 1900s to modern-day electronic systems that intervene at the point of care. We focus on two questions: how did PDMPs become so widely adopted in the United States, and how did they gain popularity as an intervention in the contemporary opioid crisis? Through this historical approach, we evaluate what PDMPs reflect about national drug policy and broader cultural understandings of substance use disorder in the United States today.
Keywords
Health Disorders; Technology; Programs; Technology Adoption; History; Government and Politics; Policy; United States
Citation
Holmgren, A Jay, Alyssa Botelho, and Allan M Brandt. "A History of Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs in the United States: Political Appeal and Public Health Efficacy." American Journal of Public Health 110, no. 8 (August 2020).