Frequently Asked Questions
About INSPECT
An INSPECT report summarizes the controlled substances a patient has been prescribed, the practitioner who prescribed them and the dispensing pharmacy where the patient obtained them. Each time a controlled substance is dispensed, the dispenser is required to submit the following information to INSPECT:
INSPECT Purpose & Goals
INSPECT was designed to serve as a tool to address the problem of prescription drug abuse and diversion in Indiana. By compiling controlled substance information into an online database (PMP Webcenter) INSPECT performs two critical functions:
- Maintain a warehouse of patient information for health care professionals
- Provide an important investigative tool for law enforcement.
INSPECT does not seek to limit the ability of doctors to perform their jobs effectively, nor does it intend to violate individual privacy or patient rights. Various security measures have been put in place to prevent abuse and ensure the confidentiality of patient medical records and other privileged information.
INSPECT History
The Indiana General Assembly passed legislation in the mid-1990s that required the collection of controlled substance data through the Central Repository for Controlled Substances Data.
At its inception, Indiana’s Prescription Drug Monitoring program required licensed pharmacies in Indiana to report on dispensed schedule II controlled substances. In early 2004, grant funding and an act of the legislature helped create INSPECT in its present form, expanding reporting requirements to include schedule II through V controlled substances.
INSPECT continues to be partially funded through the Harold Rogers grant program, which provides similar funding in other states. Additional funding for INSPECT is provided at the state level, derived from a percentage of controlled substance licensing fees.
All data collection and maintenance activities for INSPECT are handled in-house. The data repository is accessible only to registered users and available only through a secure Web site maintained by program staff.
Program Questions
What sort of information is collected by INSPECT?
An INSPECT report summarizes the controlled substances a patient has been prescribed, the practitioner who prescribed them and the dispensing pharmacy where the patient obtained them. Each time a controlled substance is dispensed, the dispenser is required to submit the following information to INSPECT:
- The recipient's name.
- The recipient's or the recipient representative's identification number or the identification number or phrase designated by the central repository.
- The recipient's date of birth.
- The national drug code number of the controlled substance dispensed.
- The date the controlled substance is dispensed.
- The quantity of the controlled substance dispensed.
- The number of days of supply dispensed.
- The dispenser's United States Drug Enforcement Agency registration number.
- The prescriber's United States Drug Enforcement Agency registration number.
- Patient address information, including city, state and zip code.
Who is required to submit information to INSPECT?
As stipulated by IC 35-48-7-8.1, licensed dispensers throughout Indiana—and out-of-state (non-resident) pharmacies licensed to dispense drugs in Indiana—are required to submit controlled substance prescription data to INSPECT every seven (7) days. The pharmacies themselves have the option of uploading the information directly through the secure PMP Webcenter or mailing a diskette or CD-Rom of their information to INSPECT.
Who is not required to submit information to INSPECT?
Each time a controlled substance is dispensed, the dispenser is required to transmit specific information to INSPECT. Exceptions to this requirement are stipulated by IC 35-48-7-3:
"Dispenser" defined
Sec. 3. As used in this chapter, "dispenser" has the meaning set forth in IC 35-48-1-13. However, the term does not include the following:
- A Type II pharmacy (as defined in IC 25-26-13-17) operated by a hospital licensed under IC 16-21.
- A nurse registered or licensed under IC 25-23 or a medication aide who administers a controlled substance at the direction of a physician licensed under IC 25-22.5.
- A person who administers or dispenses a controlled substance ordered for a bona fide patient in a facility licensed under IC 16-28.
- A pharmacy licensed under IC 25-26-13 when it dispenses prescriptions ordered for bona fide enrolled patients in facilities licensed under IC 16-28.
- A practitioner who dispenses not more than a forty-eight (48) hour supply of a controlled substance listed in either schedule II, III, or IV as set forth in IC 35-48-3-9.
How do I know that my private medical information is secure?
A number of safeguards have been put in place to protect the confidentiality of patient medical information. All authorized users of the system must be registered and approved for access (See "Who can access the information collected by INSPECT?"). And even after access to the system has been granted, to ensure confidentiality of patients' medical records, a multitude of statutory restrictions still apply. For instance, a practitioner submitting a request for patient information must be providing medical or pharmaceutical treatment to the patient in question, or must be evaluating the need for such treatment. Likewise, members of the law enforcement community are only allowed to obtain private information in cases where an investigation dealing with controlled substances is already underway.
Who is eligible to gain access to the information collected by INSPECT?
- Licensing Boards engaged in an investigation of a licensee
- Attorney General's Office, if they are involved in an investigation, adjudication, or a prosecution regarding a violation of state/federal laws concerning controlled substances
- Law Enforcement, when an investigation involving an individual or proceeding involving the unlawful diversion or misuse of schedule II, III, IV or V controlled substances, the information obtained must assist in the investigation
- Practitioners who are providing medical or pharmaceutical treatment, or evaluating the need for providing such treatment, to a patient
How do I register for an INSPECT account?
Please visit the PMP WebCenter and click on "Not a User? Register to become a User." This will initiate an automated registration process. Please provide your basic contact information and indicate your status as a pharmacy, practitioner, or member of law enforcement. Once the registration application is submitted online, it will be reviewed by the INSPECT staff. If approved for access, you should receive your PMP login information via email within 2-3 business days.
What constitutes a "Practitioner" in Indiana?
IC 35-48-7-5.8 defines a practitioner as, "…a Physician, Dentist, Veterinarians, Podiatrists, Nurse Practitioners, Scientific Investigators, Pharmacists, or any other institution or individual licensed, registered, or otherwise permitted to distribute, dispense or conduct research with respect to, or administer a controlled substance in the course of professional practice or research in the United States.
Which prescription drugs does INSPECT monitor?
The law that created INSPECT stipulates that the program is to monitor all schedule II, III, IV and V controlled substances. Click here for a list of the drugs as described in the Federal Controlled Substances Act.
Am I permitted to share INSPECT information?
The information may be shared between a patient's mutual health care providers.
Sometimes, when I conduct patient information requests on INSPECT, the system fails to return any results. Why does this occur in some cases and not others?
INSPECT's PMP WebCenter comes complete with what's known as a "Power Search Module." When a user conducts a search for a patient, our system will identify the patient on a number of matching criteria plus variants, meaning that you should only have to do one general search for a given patient. The vast majority of requests are automatically fulfilled. However, there are some exceptions to this general rule, and, in some cases, requests must be manually fulfilled by a member of the INSPECT staff. If you submit a request and do not receive a result right away, it means that your request has been queued for manual processing. For example, one instance that almost always requires manual processing is when the subject of a search has the same name and address as another patient in our repository (e.g. family members with the exact same name but different birth dates). Doing additional searches for name variations, different addresses, or different name/address spellings in these cases is completely unnecessary. The INSPECT staff will fulfill your request as soon as possible. Like auto-fulfilled requests, once a request is manually processed, it will be available for review when you are logged into your account.
PMP WebCenter Questions
How do I view my error reports?
Click on "Pharmacy Upload"; Click on "View Uploaded Files"; Select the report you wish to view.
How do I correct my errors after I've uploaded data onto the PMP WebCenter?
After viewing your error report, you should go back into your pharmacy's software system and correct each error. Once you have completed your error correction, you may resubmit your records in the same file or as part of your next regular submission.
Do I have to correct the "duplicate errors"?
No, if you generate a duplicate error, it means that record is already in the system. You may disregard duplicate errors.
How do I obtain a username and password for the PMP WebCenter?
To become an authorized PMP user, you must first apply for and obtain approval for access. This process includes a registration process and training. The registration materials are available on the login page. Simply click on the "Not a User? Register to become a User" tab. After registering, you will be contacted with information on the next available day.
What characters must be in my PMP WebCenter password?
Your password must be at least eight characters in length. Additionally, your password must have at least one of the following: 1. capital letter, 2. lower case letter, 3. number, and 4. symbol (e.g. "!" or "$").
