Are CRNAs required to check the Prescription Monitoring Program (PMP)?

APRNs with prescriptive authority are required to check a patient’s PMP history before dispensing or prescribing opioids, benzodiazepines, barbiturates, or carisoprodol. In other words, CRNAs who prescribe pursuant to a Prescriptive Authority Agreement are required to check the PMP prior to prescribing the listed substances. However, the majority of CRNAs, who merely “order” in hospital facilities or surgical centers, will not be subject to those requirements, as they are not prescribers. The applicable law is codified at Section 481.0764, Health and Safety Code. Likewise, the Board of Nursing has adopted these requirements into their own rules, at 22 TAC 222.8.