Episode 38: Privacy and Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs

The Appeal

Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs (PDMPs) have exploded in popularity. In 2000, thirteen states used PDMPs; today, they exist in every state and Washington, D.C. These programs are ostensibly designed to respond to the opioid crisis by monitoring prescribed drugs and preventing abuse and doctor shopping. But increasingly, critics say, they are interfering with legitimate healthcare. Privacy advocates and some medical experts have demanded that states slow the rush to implement PDMPs and ask hard questions about law enforcement's involvement in personal healthcare. Today we are joined by Leo Beletsky, Appeal contributor and Associate Professor of Law and Health Sciences at Northeastern University.