Prescription drug monitoring program utilization in Kentucky community pharmacies

Objective: Identify characteristics of Kentucky community pharmacists and community pharmacists’ practice environment associated with utilization of the Kentucky All Schedule Prescription Electronic Reporting Program (KASPER).Methods: Surveys were mailed to all 1,018 Kentucky pharmacists with a KASPER account and an additional 1,000 licensed pharmacists without an account. Bivariate analyses examined the association between KASPER utilization and practice type (independent or chain) and practice location (rural or urban). A multivariate Poisson regression model with robust error variance estimated risk ratios (RR) of KASPER utilization by characteristics of pharmacists’ practice environment.Results: Responses were received from 563 pharmacists (response rate 27.9%). Of these, 402 responses from community pharmacists were included in the analyses. A majority of responding pharmacists (84%) indicated they or someone in their pharmacy had requested a patient’s controlled substance history since KASPER’s inception. Bivariate results showed that pharmacists who practiced in independent pharmacies reported greater KASPER utilization (94%) than pharmacists in chain pharmacies (75%; p