The Issue Is ... PDRP

Thank you for your membership and support of the South Dakota State Medical Association (SDSMA). One of the benefits of your membership is a monthly update on issues that are of importance to you as a physician. This month we want to talk about the AMA’s Physician Data Restriction Program (PDRP).

The PDRP provides physicians a choice while ensuring that vital information on prescribing patterns continues to be available for beneficial public health purposes. Some of these include evidence-based medical research, structuring clinical trials, efficient drug recalls, aiding the FDA’s ongoing post-approval assessment of drug benefits vs. risks, and many other uses.

To date, 12,277 physicians have enrolled in the PDRP, 50 of whom call South Dakota home. Here’s a look at the numbers from our neighboring states.

• Minnesota                    169
• Iowa                            133
• Nebraska                     108
• North Dakota               22
• Montana                       18
• Wyoming                      7

The PDRP is a fair, comprehensive program that gives physicians the control they want over pharmaceutical sales representatives’ access to prescribing data. It also frees up legislators and physician advocates to work on critical issues affecting medical care, such as health insurance reform.

For more information on PDRP, go to www.sdsma.org and click on the “Practice Issues” link, which is located underneath the “Practice Management” heading.

“The Issue Is …” is the Association’s monthly update on key issues of importance to physicians.