North Carolina Controlled Substances Reporting System

Sign up for CSRS

All material on this page is from the North Carolina Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities and Substance Abuse Services. Click here to see the official state page.

| Application for Access to the System | Do’s and Don’ts for Prescribers and Dispensers Using the CSRS | Who Has Access to Information in the CSRS |

| Penalties for Misuse | State Prescription Monitoring Programs in Surrounding States |

This statewide reporting system was established by North Carolina law to improve the state’s ability to identify people who abuse and misuse prescription drugs classified as Schedule II-V controlled substances (Defined). It is also meant to assist clinicians in identifying and referring for treatment patients misusing controlled substances. The NC Commission for, and the Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities and Substance Abuse Services make rules and manage the program. For details, go to the NC law.

Program goals:

To identify and prevent diversion of prescribed controlled substances.
To reduce morbidity and mortality from unintentional drug overdoses.
To reduce the costs associated with the misuse and abuse of controlled substances.
To assist clinicians in identifying and referring for treatment patients misusing controlled substances.
To reduce the cost for law enforcement of investigating cases of diversion and misuse.
To inform the public, including health care professionals, of the use and abuse trends related to prescription drugs.

Application for Access to the System:

Please note that all applications must be notarized, whether from prescribers, dispensers, or individuals requesting their own personal information. Everyone also must provide a photo ID with their application. Do NOT fax application. Mail applications to:

NC Controlled Substances Reporting System

3008 Mail Service Center

Raleigh, NC 27699-3008

Do’s and Don’ts for Prescribers and Dispensers Using the NC Controlled Substances Reporting System (CSRS)(6/10) (Rev. 12/23/13)

DO:

Check the database prior to prescribing or dispensing a controlled substance.
Discuss any finding of concern directly with your patients, but don’t give them a copy. (Have them contact us.)
Listen to your patients when they say the system is in error and contact us to help verify if there are questions.
Notify your patients that you use the system.
Learn about SBIRT (Screening, Brief Intervention and Referral for Treatment) and use it with your patients
Use behavioral contracts with patients when appropriate.
Report forgeries to law enforcement.
Inform us of non-reporting pharmacies.

DO NOT:

Use the CSRS to exclude potential patients prior to engaging them.
Discharge patients without intervening and attempting to refer for substance abuse treatment or pain management.
Have office people check the CSRS for you.
Refer suspected "Dr. Shoppers" to police (you may call us) where your only source of data is the CSRS.
Give information to law enforcement from the CSRS (except for forgeries).
Believe information from the CSRS is the gospel truth. There can be errors. CSRS is a TOOL.

Who Has Access to Information in the CSRS:

Information submitted through this reporting system is privileged, confidential and not considered a public record. Information may only be released under certain circumstances and to people authorized to receive the information. People authorized to get information from the system include:

Practitioners and dispensers of controlled substances for the purpose of providing medical care for their patients.
Special Agents of the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation who are assigned to the Diversion & Environmental Crimes Unit.
Assigned special agents of the primary monitoring authorities for other states.
A court through to a lawful court order in a criminal action.
The Division of Medical Assistance (DMA).
Certain licensing boards. Information submitted through this reporting system is privileged, confidential and not considered a public record. Information may only be released under certain circumstances and to people authorized to receive the information.
Medical Examiners for the purpose of investigating the death of an individual.

Penalties for Misuse of the CSRS:

There are financial penalties for misusing the information. There are also financial penalties available to a person whose information is misused.

State Prescription Monitoring Programs in Surrounding States:

Use the following links for contact information for other states’ programs to find out if and how you may obtain information from their programs (not all states have programs and rules vary from state to state).

South Carolina: http://www.scdhec.net/administration/drugcontrol/pmp.htm | Phone 803-986-0688

Tennessee: http://health.state.tn.us/boards/Controlledsubstance/index.shtml | Phone 615-532-3273

Kentucky: http://chfs.ky.gov/os/oig/KASPER.htm | Phone 502-569-2815

Alliance of States with Prescription Monitoring Programs

www.pmpalliance.org | Phone 360-556-7152