Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PDMP)

The Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PDMP) is a program developed to promote the public health and welfare by detecting diversion, abuse, and misuse of prescription medications classified as controlled substances under the Alabama Uniform Controlled Substances Act. Under the Code of Alabama, 1975, § 20-2-210, et seq., the Alabama Department of Public Health (ADPH) was authorized to establish, create, and maintain a controlled substances prescription database program. Anyone who dispenses Class II, II, IV, V controlled substances is required to report daily the dispensing of these drugs to the database. 

Goals

The goals of the Alabama Prescription Drug Monitoring Program are:

• To provide a source of information for practitioners and pharmacists regarding the controlled substance use of a patient;
• To reduce prescription drug abuse by providers and patients;
• To reduce time and effort to explore leads and assess the merits of possible drug diversion cases; and
• To educate physicians, pharmacists, policymakers, law enforcement, and the public regarding the diversion, abuse, and misuse of controlled substances.

The Alabama Prescription Drug Monitoring Program is part of the ADPH Pharmacy Division.

Upcoming Events

2025 Substance Misuse Summit

Save the Date! Tuesday, January 14, 2025
Location: Frazer Church in Montgomery, Alabama

Dr. Ben Carson will serve as the keynote speaker.

As part of COACH's commitment to education, faculty are working to provide healthcare professionals with the knowledge to prevent, recognize, and assist in treatment and referral for opioid use disorders within their practice and community. These education programs bring together a diverse healthcare audience to encourage communication and collaboration across disciplines. Included in this work is an effort by Drs. Marlowe, Brent Fox, and Haley Phillippe, in partnership with the Alabama Department of Public Health, to conduct a series of town hall meetings and summits across the state through the end of 2025 in reference to Alabama's Prescription Drug Monitoring Program, or PDMP. The town halls consist of an interactive PDMP demonstration and skills-building exercise led by Auburn personnel with support from ADPH staff. The summit series is designed to focus broadly on drugs of concern. The role of the PDMP will remain a vital component of this summit series. The 2023 Substance Misuse Summit brought together an interdisciplinary audience of over 280 individuals. As of December 31, 2023, 500+ individuals participated in training provided through this sponsored project. These programs are sponsored by the Alabama Department of Public Health through a parent grant funded by the Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance.

PDMP Townhalls

Lake Guntersville – October 22, 2024
Jackson – November 18, 2024
Auburn – April 9, 2025

For more information, visit the COACH website.

This project is supported by Grant No 15PBJA-21-GG-02611-PDMP awarded by the Bureau of Justice Assistance. The Bureau of Justice Assistance is a component of the Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs, which also includes the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the National Institute of Justice, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, the Office for Victims of Crime, and the SMART Office. Points of view or opinions in this document are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.