The University of Kentucky Made Progress Toward Achieving Program Goals for Enhancing Its Prescription Drug Monitoring Program

Why OIG Did This Review

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), opioids were involved in more than 47,000 deaths in 2017, and opioid deaths were 6 times higher in 2017 than in 1999. CDC has awarded funding to States to address the nonmedical use of prescription drugs and to address opioid overdoses. We are conducting a series of reviews of States that received CDC funding to enhance their prescription drug monitoring programs (PDMPs). We selected Kentucky for review because it had the second highest age-adjusted drug overdose fatality rate in the United States in 2013.

Our objectives were to (1) identify actions the University of Kentucky (the University) has taken to achieve Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PDMP) goals of improving safe prescribing practices and preventing prescription drug abuse and misuse and (2) ensure that it used Federal funds in accordance with Federal requirements.

How OIG Did This Review

Our audit covered actions the University proposed for CDC's "Prescription Drug Overdose: Prevention for States" grant for September 1, 2015, through August 31, 2017. We examined the University's status for completing its proposed activities as of our onsite review in August 2018.

What OIG Found

We identified actions the University has taken, using Federal funds for improving PDMPs, to achieve program goals of improving safe prescribing practices and preventing prescription drug abuse and misuse as of our onsite review in August 2018. The University also complied with Federal requirements for submitting its Federal Financial Report and Annual Performance Report and publicly reported two of the five CDC-directed indicators.

Additionally, the University used the grant funds that we reviewed in accordance with Federal regulations. Finally, the University provided information on the actions it plans to take in future grant years to achieve the program goals of improving the PDMP.

What OIG Recommends

We are making no recommendations.

We revised the subject report after publishing to correct the presentation of a number.