LAUSR

The pediatric population is not immune to the impact of the opioid epidemic. There has been an increase in adolescent misuse, abuse, and diversion along with unintentional ingestions by young pediatric patients.1,2 Most public health measures designed to curb the impact of the opioid epidemic have been targeted at the adult population, including state prescription drug monitoring program (PDMP) registries.3,4 PDMPs allow providers to evaluate the prescription history of a patient’s scheduled medications such as opioids, to evaluate concerns for misuse, abuse, and diversion. PDMP use by physicians is now mandated in 46 states.5 Barriers for the use of PDMP include separate log in systems outside of the existing electronic health record (EHR), subjective interpretation of the data, and lack of support for interventions when concerns are found.6 There has been limited research evaluating the use and impact of PDMP on the pediatric population, and knowledge and use of the PDMP by pediatric providers has been limited.7-9 The objective of this study was to evaluate the use of an integrated PDMP into an EHR within a children’s hospital, and subsequent opioid prescribing patterns.