DSPS Launches Public Statistics Dashboard for Enhanced Prescription Drug Monitoring Program

Madison, WI – Today, the Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services (DSPS) launched the public statistics dashboard for the Wisconsin Enhanced Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (WI ePDMP). The dashboard provides easy-to-use interactive data visualizations for controlled substance dispensing, ePDMP utilization, and law enforcement alerts. Statistics archives dating back to the program’s implementation in 2013 are also available on the dashboard.

“Making this information readily available to the public is one more way to hold the state, prescribers, and law enforcement accountable in the fight against prescription drug abuse in Wisconsin,” said Governor Walker.

Public users can now easily access dispensing data broken down by county, drug type, drug class, alert type, demographic, and the overall number of patients with controlled substance prescriptions dispensed by year. The dashboard also provides WI ePDMP utilization data by healthcare user type, active user accounts, and utilization by non-healthcare users including law enforcement, government employees, and medical examiners. Interactive maps show law enforcement alerts by county and alert type, as well as the number of law enforcement alerts submitted to the ePDMP by year.

“The public dashboard is an important tool that will help us increase awareness and enhance our partnership with prescribers and law enforcement in the fight against prescription drug abuse in Wisconsin,” said DSPS Secretary Laura Gutiérrez. “We are proud of the enhanced capabilities of the ePDMP and are excited to share the statistics dashboard with the public. The dashboard clearly illustrates the importance of the ePDMP in helping healthcare professionals make more informed decisions about prescribing and dispensing controlled substances to patients.”

Wisconsin Attorney General Brad Schimel added, “If we are going to beat our state’s drug epidemic, it’s important that everyone know the facts, be it the medical community, law enforcement, or the public. This effort by our partners at DSPS will help inform all stakeholders involved. We live in a data-driven society and having the most up to date opioid prescribing information available will influence the practices and methods used to fight the drug epidemic in Wisconsin.”

The original Wisconsin PDMP was deployed in June 2013 and is administered by the Department of Safety and Professional Services. Since its inception, the PDMP has primarily been a tool to help healthcare professionals make more informed decisions about their prescribing and dispensing practices. It also discloses data as authorized by law to governmental and law enforcement agencies and stores over 48 million prescription records submitted by over 2,000 pharmacies and dispensing practitioners.

The WI ePDMP was launched in January 2017 and allows for value-added healthcare workflow integration, improved data quality capabilities, and maximized public health and public safety use. It also contains analytics and visualizations to draw attention to the most relevant and potentially concerning data in each patient report, such as a high level of opioid consumption or a dangerous combination of drugs.

In March 2016, 2015 Wisconsin Act 267 was enacted providing that PDMP reports be released 30 days after the end of each quarter. The first report released in October 2016 showed that between July 1 and September 30, 2016, there was a 9.63 percent reduction in prescriptions and a 9.89 percent reduction in drug doses as compared to the same period in 2015; an 8.2 million drug dose reduction. Most recently, between April 1 and June 30, 2017, there was a 9.8 percent reduction in prescriptions and an 11.9 percent reduction in drug doses as compared to the same period in 2016; a 17.5 million drug dose reduction.

The WI ePDMP contains data about schedule II-V controlled substance prescriptions reported by pharmacies that dispense in Wisconsin, including out-of-state pharmacies. Currently, all dispensers are required by law to submit dispensing data to the PDMP, and law enforcement agencies are required to submit reports about suspected controlled substance overdose events and violations of the Controlled Substances Act.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.