Prescription opioid abuse has become a serious national problem. To respond to the opioid epidemic, states have created prescription drug monitoring programs (PDMPs) to monitor and reduce opioids use. We conducted a systematic literature review to better understand metrics used to quantify the effect that PDMPs have had on reducing opioid abuse, and solutions and challenges related to the integration of PDMPs with EHRs. Lessons learned can help guide federal and state-based efforts to better respond to the current opioid crisis.