TMB says PMP checks NOT required for inpatient prescribing

February 21, 2020

Laura Hale Brockway

(See related article TMB issues final rules for pain management)

The Texas Medical Board (TMB) is trying to head off confusion about the new PMP rules before they take effect on March 1, 2020.

On that date, Texas physicians will be required to check the Texas Prescription Monitoring Program (PMP) before prescribing opioids, benzodiazepines, barbiturates, or carisoprodol.

The law requiring these PMP checks passed in 2019, and since that time prescribers have been asking how the law applies in an inpatient setting.

The TMB issued guidance on February 21, 2020 that states checking the PMP is NOT required for inpatient care. Specifically, the TMB guidance says:

“The mandatory PMP check is required only when a physician prescribes opioids, benzodiazepines, barbiturates, or carisoprodol to the ultimate user for take-home use upon leaving an outpatient setting, such as a doctor's office or ambulatory surgical center, or upon discharge from an inpatient setting, such as a hospital admission, or discharge from an emergency department visit. A mandatory PMP check is not required before or during an inpatient stay, such as a hospital admission, or during an outpatient encounter setting, such as an emergency department or ambulatory surgical center visit."