Existing prescription drug use data will be made available to providers and pharmacists when treating patients in ambulatory and emergency departments through a new pilot program launched Thursday by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
The pilot projects, located in Indiana and Ohio, will measure the effects of expanding and improving access to prescription drug monitoring programs and are part of the Obama administration’s effort to address prescription drug abuse.
PDMPs are statewide electronic databases designed to be used by healthcare providers as a tool to identify and intervene in cases of potential prescription drug abuse. The databases collect, monitor and analyze electronically transmitted prescribing and dispensing data submitted by pharmacies and dispensing practitioners.
Thus far, 49 states either have legislation authorizing PDMPs or have active programs. However, many states do not make sufficient use of these databases, according to an HHS news release. Improving real-time access to the information contained in the PDMPs will provide an incentive to healthcare providers to use the program.
The pilot projects "will help hospital staff identify a patient’s controlled substance history at the point of care to enable better targeting appropriate treatments and reduce the potential of an overdose or even death," said Farzad Mostashari, MD, ScM, national coordinator for health IT. "We are not creating new systems; we are adding value to those that exist."
In Indiana, the pilot project will demonstrate how ED staff can receive a patient’s controlled substance prescription history directly through the Regenstrief Medical Record System, a care management system. In some states, EDs are responsible for almost 25% of all controlled substance prescriptions, according to HHS.
In Ohio, the pilot project will test the impact of having a drug risk indicator in the electronic health record and how it affects clinical decision-making.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has declared that the United States is in the midst of an "epidemic" of prescription drug overdose deaths, with deaths from prescription drugs outnumbering deaths from heroin and cocaine combined. Over the past decade, prescription drug-induced deaths have approached motor vehicle deaths as the leading cause of all injury deaths, according to HHS. Programs that test collaborative efforts such as the PDMP will help identify best practices to aid healthcare professionals in combating prescription drug misuse at the moment of care.
To read a PDF of the Obama administration’s action plan to reduce prescription drug abuse, visit http://1.usa.gov/ozJiHO.
The pilot projects, located in Indiana and Ohio, will measure the effects of expanding and improving access to prescription drug monitoring programs and are part of the Obama administration’s effort to address prescription drug abuse.
PDMPs are statewide electronic databases designed to be used by healthcare providers as a tool to identify and intervene in cases of potential prescription drug abuse. The databases collect, monitor and analyze electronically transmitted prescribing and dispensing data submitted by pharmacies and dispensing practitioners.
Thus far, 49 states either have legislation authorizing PDMPs or have active programs. However, many states do not make sufficient use of these databases, according to an HHS news release. Improving real-time access to the information contained in the PDMPs will provide an incentive to healthcare providers to use the program.
The pilot projects "will help hospital staff identify a patient’s controlled substance history at the point of care to enable better targeting appropriate treatments and reduce the potential of an overdose or even death," said Farzad Mostashari, MD, ScM, national coordinator for health IT. "We are not creating new systems; we are adding value to those that exist."
In Indiana, the pilot project will demonstrate how ED staff can receive a patient’s controlled substance prescription history directly through the Regenstrief Medical Record System, a care management system. In some states, EDs are responsible for almost 25% of all controlled substance prescriptions, according to HHS.
In Ohio, the pilot project will test the impact of having a drug risk indicator in the electronic health record and how it affects clinical decision-making.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has declared that the United States is in the midst of an "epidemic" of prescription drug overdose deaths, with deaths from prescription drugs outnumbering deaths from heroin and cocaine combined. Over the past decade, prescription drug-induced deaths have approached motor vehicle deaths as the leading cause of all injury deaths, according to HHS. Programs that test collaborative efforts such as the PDMP will help identify best practices to aid healthcare professionals in combating prescription drug misuse at the moment of care.
To read a PDF of the Obama administration’s action plan to reduce prescription drug abuse, visit http://1.usa.gov/ozJiHO.
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