The Texas Orthopaedic Association (TOA) recently offered its support for HB 3284, which passed out of the 2019 Texas Legislature.

The bill, which is authored by Rep. JD Sheffield, DO and Sen. Jane Nelson, would delay the state’s prescription monitoring program (PMP) mandate by several months to ensure that physicians’ electronic health record (EHR) programs are ready to integrate the PMP into the EHRs.

In addition, HB 3284 would create an advisory committee of physicians, pharmacists, and EHR vendors to make recommendations on the PMP in the future.

TOA believes that the PMP is a valuable tool to stop some forms of “doctor shopping,” and the provisions found in HB 3284 would strengthen the PMP.

Click here to view TOA’s comment letter.