HJ0097 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HJ0097 LRB098 21246 GRL 59264 r

HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The Illinois Prescription Monitoring Program serves as a clinical tool to assist medical providers to better serve their patients while maximizing safety; the Program, in accordance with the enactment of Public Act 91-0576, began electronically collecting information on controlled substances dispensed in the State of Illinois on April 1, 2000; and

WHEREAS, The goal of the Illinois Prescription Monitoring Program is to assist prescribers and pharmacists in the effective treatment of patients seeking medical care, and the Illinois Prescription Monitoring Program website allows prescribers and pharmacists to view a current or prospective patient's prescription history; and

WHEREAS, The Illinois Prescription Monitoring Program has expanded its commitment to service and improved healthcare outcomes by helping prevent the misuse, abuse, and diversion of controlled substance medications; and

WHEREAS, The Illinois Prescription Monitoring Program is a component of and managed by the Illinois Department of Human Services and, through the services of the Illinois Prescription Monitoring Program, has improved the ability to serve healthcare providers in augmenting the effectiveness of patient care while similarly successfully helping to reduce healthcare costs and dramatically improve patient safety; and

WHEREAS, The access to the Illinois Prescription Monitoring Program website is available to physicians, pharmacists, dentists, veterinarians, physician assistants, and advanced practice nurses, as well as other prescribers and dispensers; and

WHEREAS, Last year, the Illinois Prescription Monitoring Program collected 16.4 million prescription records; 22,000 prescribers and dispensers referred to its clinical data on a regular basis; and

WHEREAS, Illinois is a participating state in the evolving national program of Prescription Monitoring Program services through the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy to facilitate interstate sharing of data with other participating states on the "Interconnect"; and

WHEREAS, Using the Illinois Prescription Monitoring Program website is voluntary, free to registrants, provides fully functional availability for mobile devices, and is accessible 24 hours per day and 7 days a week to provide immediate access to patient prescription history; and

WHEREAS, The Illinois Prescription Monitoring Program is built on the foundation of improving healthcare outcomes while not denying information as needed to assist law enforcement and placing paramount priority on HIPAA privacy requirements; and

WHEREAS, The use of the Illinois Prescription Monitoring Program in the evaluation of a patient's controlled substance history is a tool for prescribers and dispensers to incorporate into their daily practice to prevent the accidental overdose or potential drug interactions; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that we designate the month of June of 2014 as "Illinois Prescription Monitoring Program Month" in the State of Illinois.