What You Should Know:
– The Department of Veteran Affairs is working with Appriss Health to tackle the veteran opioid epidemic via drug monitoring.
– The tool will give VHA prescribers more complete clinical information, including controlled substance prescription histories, for patients, helping clinicians identify and prevent prescription drug misuse, resulting in better-informed care decision-making and improving patient safety.
Appriss Health, a provider delivering point-of-care and data-sharing solutions that improve public health outcomes, in partnership with Prime Contractor, Veterans EZ Info Inc., today announced that the Department of Veterans Affairs (VHA) is facilitating access to state prescription drug monitoring programs (PDMP) across its medical centers using PMP Gateway. The tool will arm VHA prescribers with more complete clinical information, including controlled substance prescription histories, for patients, helping clinicians identify and prevent prescription drug misuse, resulting in better informed care decision-making and improving patient safety.
Complete View of Patient’s Controlled Substance Prescription Histories
The VHA requires providers to electronically check the state PDMP prior to prescribing or dispensing a Schedule II controlled substance. Appriss Health’s PMP Gateway will allow VHA providers to have in-workflow access to a fuller view of a patient’s complete medical history and controlled substance prescription history, based on information provided from the VHA electronic health record, as well as from state PDMPs.
VHA medical providers will be able to easily access the full benefit of the nation’s network of shared PDMP resources, further reducing risk for addiction and overdose for many veterans.
Appriss Health’s Gateway increases use of PDMP data at the point-of-care through integration with more than 130 EHRs and the nation’s largest pharmacy chain systems. In addition to providing a clearer picture of potential controlled substance use and patient risk with near real-time access to prescription histories and other clinical information, in-workflow access saves providers, pharmacists, and other qualified medical professionals time by eliminating the need to log into a separate website to look for or input PDMP data.
VHA Pilot Program/PMP Gateway Integration Pilot Program
As part of the integration, the VHA is piloting the PMP Gateway integration at two VHA Medical Centers, impacting more than 500 providers and licensed delegates. Deployment of this PDMP solution for the VHA is being led by VetsEz, with additional support from J2 Interactive and Mind Computing. A national roll-out will follow to include more than 19,000 providers and licensed delegates.
“We’re proud to support the VHA healthcare system’s commitment to our nation’s veterans and ongoing efforts to provide the best healthcare possible,” said Rob Cohen, president of Appriss Health. “Our nation’s veterans – our heroes – deserve our best efforts to keep them safe while treating their health challenges. Unfortunately, too many veterans struggle with substance use disorder as a result of their efforts to manage chronic pain. Our partnership with the VHA will help bring added care and support, when veterans need it most.”
