Proposed MAPS Overhaul Takes Center Stage at Michigan Senate Health Policy Committee Hearing

The Michigan Senate Health Policy Committee heard testimony on May 24 from the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA) regarding the proposed replacement of the Michigan Automated Prescription System (MAPS), the state's electronic monitoring system created in 2003 to track the dispensing of controlled substances, schedule 2-5, from prescribers to patients.

Committee members peppered Kim Gaedeke, LARA’s Director of the Bureau of Professional Licensing, with questions regarding the new system, including the timeline for launch, functionality and anticipated utilization rate among prescribers.

The proposed budget includes $4.5 million to replace the current MAPS. It does not, however, include funding to integrate the new system into electronic medical records, although the potential development—and the newfound ease it would offer prescribers, particularly in the presence of a state mandate—has received a lot of attention.

The Department shared a background sheet on the MAPS proposal, citing that “having a new PDMP [Prescription Drug Monitoring Program] system will allow the Department and the Office of the Attorney General to shift its limited resources and staffing to the right areas and implement a robust enforcement program that focuses on prescribers/dispensers who over-prescribe and or/are involved in drug activities”.