Today, DrFirst unveiled its new integrated solution which enables easy access via MEDITECH EHR to California state databases to red-flag opioid ‘doctor shopping’ and reduce overall drug abuse. This newest initiative in DrFirst’s long-time fight to end the opioid epidemic is point-of-care technology that seamlessly connects MEDITECH’s EHR system and California’s prescription drug monitoring program (PDMP).
Importance of CURES 2.0 integration
This new CURES 2.0 integration is critical because it gives clinicians streamlined, real-time access to essential opioid prescription information for individual patients at the point-of-care. Prescribers using DrFirst’s e-prescribing tools within the MEDITECH EHR can quickly check the CURES 2.0 database to view their patients’ opioid prescription history, allowing them to quickly identify patients who may have substance abuse disorders and are “doctor shopping” for prescriptions of controlled substances.
The CURES 2.0 database includes prescriptions of Schedule II, III and IV controlled substances dispensed in California. As of October 2, 2018, with specified exceptions, health care practitioners authorized to prescribe, order, administer, or furnish a controlled substance were required by California law to consult the CURES database. Practitioners must review a patient’s controlled substance history before prescribing Schedule II, III and IV drugs to a patient for the first time, and at least once every four months after that if the substance remains part of the treatment of the patient. In 2016, over 2,000 individuals died from opioid-related overdoses in California and more than 42,000 across the country.
Prescribers do not need to log into CURES 2.0 from a separate browser because patient queries are initiated from within the e-prescribing workflow. Prescription records are returned directly within the EHR automatically once physician credentials are validated in the state’s PDMP.
DrFirst and MEDITECH are the first vendors to offer acute care providers and providers across the continuum access to CURES 2.0 from within e-prescribing workflows. The integration is critical because it gives clinicians streamlined, real-time access to essential opioid prescription information for patients at the point of care. Prescribers can quickly check the CURES 2.0 database to view patients’ opioid prescribing histories, allowing them to easily identify patients who may have substance abuse disorders and are “doctor shopping” for prescriptions of controlled substances.
“Physicians want to do what’s best for their patients and, as technology providers, we have the privilege of helping them deliver care more safely and efficiently,” said Howard Messing, President, and CEO of MEDITECH. “We are confident that, by giving physicians ready-access to in-depth details of patients’ past prescriptions through the integration between MEDITECH and the CURES 2.0 PDMP, physicians will be able to make a meaningful difference in addressing California’s opioid crisis.”
