The 2017 Minnesota Legislature spent considerable resources focused on PMP and public safety initiatives. The Minnesota Board of Optometry was reminded of the 2016 requirements at their July 2017 meeting and reminds you of the mandatory registration with the PMP (administered by the Board of Pharmacy), if the law applies to you. Compliance with the July 1 st, 2017 mandate to register for an account with the Minnesota Prescription Monitoring Program (PMP) is mandated if you meet the following three criteria: 

1. Licensed and practice in Minnesota as an Optometrist. 

2. Authorized to prescribe controlled substances. 

3. Hold a current DEA registration. 

The actual law enacted in the 2016 legislative session regarding mandatory PMP registration reads: 

"By July 1, 2017, every prescriber licensed by a health-related licensing board listed in section 214.01, subdivision 2, practicing within this state who is authorized to prescribe controlled substances for humans and who holds a current registration issued by the federal Drug Enforcement Administration, and every pharmacist licensed by the board and practicing within the state, shall register and maintain a user account with the prescription monitoring program. Data submitted by a prescriber, pharmacist, or their delegate during the registration application process, other than their name, license number, and license type, is classified as private pursuant to section 13.02, subdivision 12."

We want you to understand the importance of compliance with this requirement and how it can be used as a tool to promote public health and welfare by detecting diversion, abuse, and misuse for the prescription medications classified as controlled substances under the Minnesota statutes. Board members who have registered report the process took less than five minutes, so please register for an account today. 

To locate the application for a PMP account, please go to the PMP’s website at http://pmp.pharmacy.state.mn.us/prescriber-rxsentry-access-form-1.html. In addition, to fully activate the account you must follow up with all instructions sent to you by the PMP program via email once you register to maintain an active registration.