AR SB339

Prescribers must check the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PDMP) every time when prescribing Schedule II or Schedule III opioids to a patient.

Prescribers must check the PDMP on the first time prescribing benzodiazepine medications to a patient.

Licensed oncologists must check the PDMP when prescribing to a patient on initial malignant diagnosis and every three months following the diagnosis while continuing treatment.

Exemptions from PDMP check requirements apply to practitioners administering controlled substances during surgery, in healthcare facilities, in emergency situations, to palliative care or hospice patients, and to nursing home residents.

Practitioners who purposely fail to access the PDMP as required are subject to disciplinary action by their licensing board.

Multiple state licensing boards (medical, dental, nursing, optometry, pharmacy, and veterinary) must promulgate rules limiting the amount of Schedule II narcotics that may be prescribed and dispensed by their licensees.