Colorado PDMP Training and Legislative Update Webinar
August 23, 2022

August 7, 2022

The Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies, Division of Professions and Occupations (Division) invites you to a Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PDMP) Training and Legislative Update webinar. The webinar will include training and resources regarding registration and use of the Colorado PDMP and will discuss several statutory changes that take effect in 2022.

  • Who?  Prescribers, pharmacists, delegate PDMP users, and other stakeholders

  • What?  PDMP training and education session regarding PDMP registration requirements, use of the PDMP, delegate registration and use of the PDMP, and program updates due to recent legislation.

  • Where?  Virtual - register here

  • When? August 23, 2022; noon

  • Why?  Recent legislation made several statutory changes to the Colorado PDMP that take effect in 2022, including updates concerning delegate access and statutory requirements that prescribers query the PDMP before writing certain opioid and benzodiazepine prescriptions.

If you are unable to attend this webinar, a recording will be posted to the DORA PDMP Training webpage at dpo.colorado.gov/PDMP/Training.

Legislative Updates

Colorado Senate Bill 22-027 and House Bill 22-1115 enact several statutory updates regarding the Colorado Prescription Drug Monitoring Program that take effect in 2022:

  • SB 22-027 clarifies that all DEA-licensed prescribers and all pharmacists licensed in Colorado are required to register and maintain a user account with the Colorado PDMP.

  • HB 22-1115 removes restrictions on the number of delegate users a DEA-licensed practitioner or pharmacist may authorize to query the PDMP on the prescriber’s or pharmacist’s behalf. This change takes effect August 9, 2022.  

  • SB 22-027 and HB 22-1115 clarify that each practitioner or the practitioner's delegate is required to query the PDMP prior to prescribing an opioid unless the patient receiving the prescription:

    • Is receiving the opioid in a hospital, skilled nursing facility, residential facility, or correctional facility;

    • Has been diagnosed with cancer and is experiencing cancer-related pain;

    • Is undergoing palliative care or hospice care;

    • Is experiencing post-surgical pain that, because of the nature of the procedure, is expected to last more than fourteen days;

    • Is receiving treatment during a natural disaster or during an incident where mass casualties have taken place; or

    • Has received only a single dose to relieve pain for a single test or procedure.

  • SB 22-027 and HB 22-1115 clarify that each practitioner or the practitioner's designee shall query the program before prescribing a benzodiazepine to a patient unless the benzodiazepine is prescribed to treat a patient:

    • In hospice;

    • To treat epilepsy, a seizure or seizure disorder, a suspected seizure disorder, spasticity, alcohol withdrawal, or a neurological condition, including a posttraumatic brain injury or catatonia.

PDMP Task Force Annual Report

SB 22-027 requires the PDMP Task Force to evaluate and make recommendations to the DORA Executive Director, after engaging in a stakeholder process, regarding balancing the PDMP as a health care tool with the enforcement of PDMP statutory requirements.

For the 2021-2022 PDMP Task Force Annual Report, the DORA Executive Director requested that the PDMP Task Force:

  • Evaluate the Effects of Allowing Law Enforcement Access to PDMP data without Requiring a Subpoena or Court Order

  • Evaluate Effectiveness of Unsolicited Reporting to Licensing Boards of Licensees’ Prescribing Activity

The PDMP Task Force submitted its Annual Report to the Colorado General Assembly on July 1, 2022.  The report can be found at: http://www.leg.state.co.us/library/reports.nsf/reports.xsp.  In the “Statutory Cite” pick list, select 12-280-409(2) to find the 2021-2022 PDMP Task Force Annual Report.