PDF Print Email

IL-PMP Update 

February 16, 2018

Your practice personnel may be concerned about how to access the Illinois Prescription Monitoring Program (IL-PMP) since the new law took effect on January 1 that requires prescribers of Schedule 2-5 drugs to be registered.

The FAQs below are not official information from the IL-PMP, but from the notes taken by Vince Keenan, IAFP Executive Vice President, during a Feb. 15 meeting. IL-PMP will be adding official information on its website soon. This information is not legally binding, but meant to be helpful to you until IL-PMP has official guidance. After reviewing the points below, please send any additional questions to Vince Keenan, [email protected] or call 708-997-4930.

  • I signed up for the IL-PMP in last two months but haven’t heard whether I’m registered or not. What’s up?

More than 25,000 prescribers have signed up in the last two months bringing the total number to around 52,000 prescribers. There is about a six-week backlog of registering. IL-PMP staff needs time to verify the registration of each prescriber, before permitting access to the IL-PMP.

  • I thought the state law said I need to be signed up to IL-PMP to prescribe controlled substances. Does this count as my attempt at registering count?

The law states that you must keep track of your IL-PMP look-ups when you prescribe a controlled substance for the first time for a patient. Just note in the patient record that you have registered but have not yet been activated; that should suffice for complying.

  • Will IDFPR prosecute me or my practice for not looking up on the IL-PMP for prescribing controlled substances to a patient for the first time?
At the meeting, representatives from the Illinois Department of Human Services (the agency in charge of IL-PMP) said they would be in contact with the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) to see if IDFPR will delay any potential action for at least three months.

 

  • The new law allows for the assignment of designees other than the physician. Can I sign up others in my practice to be my designee?

Not yet. IL-PMP is testing the webpages for designees now and hopes to have the ability to identify designees ready in a few weeks. There will be the option to assign up to 5 designees per prescriber. If you would like to help IL-PMP test the designee webpages, send an email to [email protected] and put “Designee” in the subject line. Include your contact information in the body of your email.

  • I heard that the IL-PMP is going to have real-time reporting of prescriptions. Is that true?

While real-time reporting of prescriptions is theoretically possible, it is very expensive. IL-PMP has been providing daily updates for at least two years.

  • I’ve received a letter from IL PMP about a patient. Does this mean I am legally in trouble, or at risk?

IL-PMP sends out letters to prescribers when one of their patients has received five controlled substance prescriptions from five different prescribers, or picked up prescriptions from five different pharmacies in the past six months (the 5-5-6 metric). The purpose of these letters is to inform you. It is not a judgment about your practice. Other letters are sent for patients who receive prescriptions from three different prescribers, or picked up prescriptions from three different pharmacies, in one month (the 3-3-1 metric). These letters are also for your information.

  • Is there a faster way to connect to IL-PMP? It takes 90 seconds to three minutes for my practice to connect to IL-PMP.

Say welcome to PMPnow! PMPnow allows EHRs to direct connect to IL-PMP. There are plug-and-play software add-ons for most EHRs; or your IT consultant (is that you?) can develop the software add-on.

  • What guidelines does IL-PMP recommend that prescribers use?

IL-PMP is following the CDC opioid prescribing guidelines but they are not requiring prescribers to use them. It is for information. There are also other guidelines that other state agencies are reviewing, such as the Federation of State Medical Boards guidelines

  • Does law enforcement or justice have open access to IL-PMP?

Access by law enforcement or justice is limited to active cases. Law enforcement and justice representatives must petition IL-PMP, which verifies the requester’s legitimacy, and then receives access to only information on that case. There is no general access allowed to law enforcement or justice officials.

  • What medical cannabis information is available on IL-PMP?

Only a notice that a patient has a medical cannabis card. No information is tracked on whether the patient has received any medical cannabis from a dispensary.

  • What information on Naloxone is available on IL-PMP?

The PMP does not track patients/family members/first responders who receive Naloxone. The Department of Human Services only tracks where Naloxone is picked up or distributed. This helps to identify if areas where there are higher number of overdoses have adequate Naloxone supplies.

  • What is the new MPE/MME calculator I have heard about?

IL-PMP is this/close to launching an MPE/MME calculator. It will have two functions. One will be to display in a chart (rather than a data time) over time the MMEs of all the prescriptions that the patient has received. The second will be to allow the prescriber to enter in a proposed prescription and see its effect on MMEs for the patient. The calculator is meant to be a tool for prescribers to consider as they prescribe.

  • Why doesn’t the IL-PMP search other states’ PMPs when I look for a patient’s record on the IL-PMP? Especially for patients that live near state borders.

Unfortunately, due to other states’ laws and some technology issues, this is not currently possible. To look up patient’s prescriptions in other states, a prescriber (and hopefully soon, a designee) must look it up in each separate state PMP through the IL PMP website. Not all states are part of the compact. All of Illinois’s neighboring states are, except Missouri.

Last Updated on Friday, February 16, 2018 10:27 AM