Representatives Tout Importance of PDMPs, Cracking Down on Fentanyl

Bipartisanship and collaboration were among the key themes of addresses by US Representatives Hal Rogers of Kentucky and David Trone of Maryland during the Tuesday morning plenary session at the Rx and Illicit Drug Summit in Atlanta, Georgia.

“We can’t only rely on arresting or treating or educating our way out of this problem,” Rogers said in regard to the nation’s addiction crisis. “We have to do all 3, all the time, for a long time. We must work together bringing our experience to the table to solve the crisis, and that’s exactly what we are doing this week. I, and my colleagues, will champion your work back in Washington on the Hill. …Your dedication is ultimately what will stop this scourge and save lives.”

Rogers supported the use of prescription drug monitoring programs (PDMPs), which have been a topic of discussion since the first Rx Summit in 2012 and are now established in all 50 states after the launch of Missouri’s in June 2021. PDMPs are a critical tool for helping doctors communicate with each other and law enforcement to stop the practice of “doctor shopping,” Rogers said.

The next frontier for PDMPs, he added, will be improving interstate efficiency and making their usage mandatory for all prescribers. Currently, just 35% of prescribers use PDMPs in states where their usage is not mandated, Rogers said.

Both Rogers and Trone discussed the increasing threat of fentanyl, which is now causing a surge in deaths with its presence in counterfeit prescription medications. About 4 in 10 pills seized by the Drug Enforcement Administration now contain a lethal dose of fentanyl, and “unfortunately, [most users] don’t realize it until it’s too late,” Rogers said.

Trone shared details of a collaboration between 7 government agencies to study synthetic opioid trafficking. After more than a year of investigation, the bipartisan group put together a list of 76 regulatory and legislative initiatives to pursue.

The need for action is urgent, as lethal quantities of fentanyl can be smuggled into the US across its southern border in small passenger vehicles, and bad batches are now popping up across the nation, Trone said. Meanwhile, after a reported 1 million individuals have died by overdose since 1999, Trone shared that researchers at Stanford University project another 1.2 million lives to be lost to overdose between 2020 and 2030, based on current trends.

“This is a chance right here where we can give back, move the needle, and have a mission,” Trone said. “The mission is clear. The numbers are disturbing. We have to work as a team.”

Reference

Rogers H, Trone D. Plenary. Presented at: Rx and Illicit Drug Summit; April 18-21, 2022; Atlanta.