NCJ Number
252557
Journal
American Journal of Preventive Medicine Volume: 54 Issue: 5 Dated: May 2018 Pages: E91-E98
Date Published
May 2018
Length
8 pages
Annotation
This study extended prior research on barriers to the use of a prescription drug monitoring program by examining psychosocial correlates of intended use among physicians and pharmacists.
Abstract
A total of 1,904 California physicians and pharmacists responded to a statewide survey (24.1-percent response rate) from August 2016 to January 2017. Participants completed an online survey that examined attitudes toward prescription drug misuse and abuse, prescribing practices, prescription drug monitoring program design and ease of use, professional obligations, and normative beliefs regarding the use of prescription drug monitoring programs. Data were analyzed in 2017. The study found that the perceived usefulness and normative beliefs about the prescription drug monitoring program mediated the relationship between concern about prescription drug abuse and intentions to use the prescription drug monitoring program. Clinicians' sense of professional and moral obligation to use the prescription drug monitoring program was unrelated to their intention to use the prescription drug monitoring program despite a positive relationship with concern about misuse and abuse. Compared with physicians, pharmacists reported greater concern about prescription drug misuse, greater professional and moral obligation to use the prescription drug monitoring program, and greater rating of the usefulness of a prescription drug monitoring program. Based on these findings, the study concludes that interventions which target normative beliefs about the purpose of a prescription drug monitoring program and how to use it effectively are likely to be more effective than those that target professional and moral obligations to the medical community. (publisher abstract modified)