Required Review when Prescribing Opiates

Minnesota Statutes Sect. 152.126 subd. 6(d) reads in part... a prescriber or an agent or employee of the prescriber to whom the prescriber has delegated the task of accessing the data, must access the ...MN PMP database... to the extent the information relates specifically to the patient:

• (1) before the prescriber issues an initial prescription order for a Schedules II through IV opiate controlled substance to the patient; and
• (2) at least once every three months for patients receiving an opiate for treatment of chronic pain or participating in medically assisted treatment for an opioid addiction.

Exceptions

the above does not apply if:

• the patient is receiving palliative care, or hospice or other end-of-life care;

• the patient is being treated for pain due to cancer or the treatment of cancer;

• the prescription order is for a number of doses that is intended to last the patient five days or less and is not subject to a refill;

• the prescriber and patient have a current or ongoing provider/patient relationship of a duration longer than one year;

• the prescription order is issued within 14 days following surgery or three days following oral surgery or follows the prescribing protocols established under the opioid prescribing improvement program under section 256B.0638;

• the controlled substance is prescribed or administered to a patient who is admitted to an inpatient hospital;

• the controlled substance is lawfully administered by injection, ingestion, or any other means to the patient by the prescriber, a pharmacist, or by the patient at the direction of a prescriber and in the presence of the prescriber or pharmacist;

• due to a medical emergency, it is not possible for the prescriber to review the data before the prescriber issues the prescription order for the patient; or

• the prescriber is unable to access the data due to operational or other technological failure of the program so long as the prescriber reports the failure to the board.

If you have questions or are unsure if your situation requires review of the MN PMP, please view our Frequently Asked Questions sheet below.