Law Enforcement Officers’ Perceptions of Florida’s Prescription Drug Monitoring Program

Prescription pain medication misuse and abuse is a considerable criminal justice and public health problem in the United States. As a result, prescription drug monitoring programs (PDMPs) have been developed and implemented across the country to monitor patients with high abuse potential and to detect abnormalities in the prescribing of controlled substances. The current study relies on a sample of 87 Florida law enforcement officers to gauge their perceptions of, use of, and perceived effectiveness of Florida’s PDMP. Results indicate that most of the law enforcement officers considered themselves moderate-to-frequent users of the PDMP and considered the PDMP to be an effective system. In addition, many of the officers reported that their communication had increased with prescribers and pharmacists because of the PDMP. These findings notwithstanding, some officers noted a few barriers/limitations of the PDMP such as “false negatives” and an inability to check another state’s PDMP as areas for improvement. Study limitations and implications are also discussed.