Vermont Prescription Monitoring System
- About the Vermont Prescription Monitoring System
- Provider Information
- Advisory Committee
- Related Documents and Information
- Contact the Prescription Monitoring Program
About the Vermont Prescription Monitoring System
Enacted in 2006, Act 205, authorizes the Department of Health to establish the Vermont Prescription Monitoring System (VPMS).
When a Schedule II, III, or IV controlled substance is dispensed to an outpatient, a standard set of information about the patient, the prescriber, and the drug, will be collected by the VPMS and maintained for six years on a secure, central database.
Information from the Prescription Monitoring System will be available to providers and pharmacists for use in the treatment of a patient. By maintaining complete and up-to-date information, providers will have access to a full history of their patient's prescriptions for controlled substances. Further, the system can alert a provider to possible abuse of - or addiction to - controlled substances. With these data, providers can more effectively manage their patients' treatment.
The system is also designed to offer patients access to their own personal data, and professional licensure boards can use the information as a part of an active investigation of a licensee.
Meeting a Critical Need
There is broad consensus within the substance abuse community as well as on the VPMS Advisory Committee, of the critical need for this resource. In our current health care system, patients often visit multiple providers, and can receive multiple prescriptions in an uncoordinated manner.
Recent reports at the state and national level indicate that the abuse of pharmaceutical drugs is the fastest growing area of use and addiction, and is becoming a major problem among youth and young adults. Excluding alcohol, and after marijuana, prescription drugs are the second most commonly abused substances among every age group.
Provider Information
Effective July 1, 2008, pharmacies must post the following Advisory Notice.
Pharmacies are required by Vermont Prescription Monitoring System regulations to post the advisory notice as of July 1, even though the system is not yet operational. The rule directs pharmacies to "submit a Report of Controlled Substances Dispensed for each reportable prescription dispensed beginning with data as of July 1, 2008…"
For this reason, customers picking up a prescription for controlled substances as of that date must be informed that this information will be entered into the VPMS database.
Related Documents and Information
Act 205
Additional Information
- VPMS Statutes
- Status of State Drug Legislation (NAMSDL) - 12/07
- National Prescription Monitoring Program Activities - 12/07
- Independently Owned Pharmacies in Rural America
Advisory Committee
Act 205 names fourteen individuals or organizations to be included in the membership of the Prescription Monitoring System’s Advisory Committee. The members include representatives of:
- Appropriate licensure boards
- Consumers
- Drug and Alcohol treatment professionals
- Emergency Department physicians
- Pharmacists
- Retail pharmacies
- Vermont Attorney General
- Vermont Dental Society
- Vermont Department of Health
- Vermont Department of Public Safety
- Vermont Medical Society
- Vermont State Nurses Association
Prescription Monitoring System Advisory Committee Membership (pdf)
Contact Information
If you are interested in receiving information on the VPMS on a regular basis, please contact the Program office at 802-652-4147, or via e-mail to: mzilber@vdh.state.vt.us.