Opioids

There has been much made in the news lately about the opioid epidemic. And with reason too: the numbers are absolutely staggering and boggle the mind. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), opioid-related deaths have quadrupled in number since 1999. And between 2000 and 2015, more than half a million people have died of a drug overdose. These statistics include obvious villains like heroin and opium, but amazingly enough, sales of prescription opioids and deaths from prescribed opioids have both kept pace with the overall opioid overdose death rate, likewise quadrupling in number since 1999.
 

 
Naturally, an epidemic this dire has received government scrutiny and as of June 2016, 49 states have either implemented a Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PDMP) or are in the process of implementing a PDMP. Generally defined, a PDMP is a statewide database which collects data on the dispensation of controlled substances within the state. The information is then provided to professionals, such as health care providers, to deter drug abuse and diversion, and to identify and treat individuals addicted to prescription drugs.

The means of reporting and sharing prescription drug data vary from state to state but today, we are going to talk about Pennsylvania's PDMP. In August of 2016, clinicians in Pennsylvania had to utilize the state PDMP database when prescribing a controlled substance to a patient for the first time or when there was reason to believe the patient was suffering from addiction or might be diverting a controlled substance. As of January 2017, clinicians were then given the added requirement to use the state PDMP database each and every time an opioid drug product or a benzodiazepine was prescribed, regardless of whether or not the medication was a first-time prescription.

Of course, none of this should be new to our customers in Pennsylvania, but what is new are some of the changes made in Rexpert in order to assist with the PDMP process in that state. There are a number of screens in Rexpert where prescription information is stored, such as Prescription Maintenance, Account Registration, and Medications/Prescriptions. New check boxes on these screens allow you to denote whether a prescribed medication is an opioid, a benzodiazepine, or some other controlled substance.

Also on the screen are a PDMP Query button which will take technicians directly to the Pennsylvania PDMP portal, and a Date/Time/User stamp to document that the PDMP database query and/or report was indeed performed. An example of the new PDMP-related features can be seen above. That should make compliance with the state requirements a bit easier for our customers; but frankly, we are just glad to do our little bit in the war against the devastating opioid epidemic.

And to our customers who are not in Pennsylvania: let us know (via the Customer Feedback button) if your state implements any new PDMP requirements so that we can assist you in complying with the new requirements. Likewise, let us know if we can assist with any existing PDMP protocols.