New Jersey Board Encourages Pharmacists to Register to Access NJPMP to Prevent Prescription Drug Abuse

April 17, 2012 10:04 AM

The New Jersey State Board of Pharmacy is encouraging licensed pharmacists to register to access the New Jersey Prescription Monitoring Program (NJPMP) and to use NJPMP data to help prevent prescription drug abuse.

Since September 1, 2011, New Jersey-licensed pharmacies have populated the NJPMP database with information on more than 6 million prescriptions for controlled dangerous substances (CDS) and human growth hormone. This highly detailed data has helped identify users who allegedly took advantage of doctors, pharmacists, and insurance companies, by purchasing astronomical quantities of narcotic CDS.

Several of these cases came to light thanks to individual pharmacists, who registered to access the NJPMP and learned about the CDS histories of clients. The Board notes that the NJPMP empowers registered users to identify warning signs of abuse and diversion, by learning whether a client has purchased CDS from an excessive number of pharmacies, or has obtained prescriptions from an excessive number of prescribers.

Pharmacists who are licensed by the state of New Jersey, and in good standing with the Board, may register for their own NJPMP access account.

Much more information about the NJPMP and prescription drug abuse can be found at www.NJConsumerAffairs.gov/pmp.