Drug Enforcement Agency registrants may have received an email in October from the agency about its new database to help registrants prevent opioid abuse.

The Suspicious Orders Report System online tool launched as part of a federal requirement by the Substance Use-Disorder Prevention that Promotes Opioid Recovery and Treatment for Patients and Communities Act, or SUPPORT Act. A key provision of that legislation, which the American Dental Association supported in 2018, includes authorizing additional funding for improving the quality and interoperability of state prescription drug monitoring programs.

The law requires that all DEA registrants that distribute controlled substances to other registrants report suspicious orders to DEA. It does not affect dentists who only write patient prescriptions for controlled substances.

On the DEA website, the agency lists several examples of common questions some registrants have had, including:

Question: Who needs to report to the SORS Online system?
 
Answer: The SORS Online system should only be used by DEA registrants that distribute controlled substances to other DEA registrants. Previously, only manufacturers and distributors were required to report suspicious orders. The SUPPORT Act requires that all DEA registrants that distribute controlled substances report suspicious orders to SORS Online. Reverse distributors and exporters are not affected by this SUPPORT Act requirement.

Question: I am a practitioner and I only write prescriptions for and dispense controlled substances. Am I required to report anything to SORS Online?

Answer: No. Practitioners who are not distributing/selling controlled substances to other DEA registrants are not required to report anything to SORS Online.
 
Question: I am a pharmacy and I only dispense controlled substances pursuant to prescriptions a practitioner writes. Am I required to report anything to SORS Online?
 
Answer: No. Pharmacies that are not distributing/selling controlled substances to other DEA registrants are not required to report anything to SORS Online.

For more information, visit the DEA website or email deadiversionwebmaster@usdoj.gov.