This information is provided as an IVMA member benefit to assist you in navigating INSPECT and its reporting requirements. For specific questions, contact INSPECT directly for clarification.
Essentially, INSPECT is an on-line controlled substance database that attempts to:
· Maintain an available warehouse of patient information for health care professionals
· Provide an important investigative tool for law enforcement
INSPECT is designed to help identify patients (or in the case of veterinarians, the owners of veterinary patients), who are addicted to opioids and engage in something called “doctor shopping” in which they go from doctor to doctor, or pharmacy to pharmacy to obtain as many prescriptions of opioids as possible.
Beginning January 1, 2019, a practitioner who is permitted to distribute, dispense, prescribe, conduct research with respect to, or administer ephedrine, Pseudoephedrine, or a controlled substance in the course of the practitioner’s professional practice or research in the United States must be certified under section 11.1(d)(4) of this chapter to receive information from the INSPECT program. (This applies to Veterinarians who hold an Indiana CSR.) INSPECT (Indiana Scheduled Prescription Electronic Collection and Tracking Program) is Indiana’s own prescription drug monitoring program (PDMP) that serves as a tool to reduce the abuse, acquisition and diversion of prescription drugs in Indiana.
The short answer is, based on the language of Indiana Code § 35-48-7-11.3 and the guidance of the Professional Licensing Agency, it appears that any veterinarian that distributes, dispenses, or prescribes a controlled substance is required to register for INSPECT, and the IPLA requires that each practitioner INSPECT registrant have their own individual DEA License to register. IVMA was recently informed by PLA/INSPECT that if there is more than one licensed veterinarian within a practice, they are all able to dispense medication to patients under the DEA of the practice owner. They will only need to obtain their own individual DEA license if they are prescribing to a patient (providing a written prescription to be dispensed at a pharmacy). (To dispense or prescribe a controlled substance, a practitioner needs a DEA number and a CSR. These two items are also needed for a user to register with the INSPECT system. If the practitioner is not prescribing controlled substances and does not have a DEA or CSR, then they are not be required by law to register/check INSPECT. Note: this scenario is a bit different when a veterinarian is dispensing Gabapentin as he/she does not need a DEA or CSR to dispense/prescribe this substance.)
The short answer is, based on the language of Indiana Code § 35-48-7-11.3 and the guidance of the Professional Licensing Agency, it appears that any veterinarian that distributes, dispenses, or prescribes a controlled substance is required to register for INSPECT, and the IPLA requires that each practitioner INSPECT registrant have their own individual DEA License to register. IVMA was recently informed by PLA/INSPECT that if there is more than one licensed veterinarian within a practice, they are all able to dispense medication to patients under the DEA of the practice owner. They will only need to obtain their own individual DEA license if they are prescribing to a patient (providing a written prescription to be dispensed at a pharmacy). (To dispense or prescribe a controlled substance, a practitioner needs a DEA number and a CSR. These two items are also needed for a user to register with the INSPECT system. If the practitioner is not prescribing controlled substances and does not have a DEA or CSR, then they are not be required by law to register/check INSPECT. Note: this scenario is a bit different when a veterinarian is dispensing Gabapentin as he/she does not need a DEA or CSR to dispense/prescribe this substance.)