According to a DrFirst sponsored Opioid crisis survey, 76% of consumers favor the utilization of prescription drug monitoring programs (PDMP) and 68% of them support the use of PDMPs even if it slows clinicians down. Many states require physicians and pharmacists to consult a PDMP before prescribing or dispensing controlled substances, allowing clinicians to spot patients who may be misusing prescription opioids and are at risk for overdose. However, the survey reveals providers often ignore this requirement because workflows are typically inefficient and time-consuming.
Only 20% of Patients Experienced Difficulty in Obtaining Opioid Prescriptions
The survey finds 48% of consumers have been prescribed an opioid-based medication in the last five years, and, nearly two-thirds of those individuals have obtained multiple prescriptions within that timeframe. Only 20% of patients reported experiencing difficulty in obtaining a prescription for an opioid-based medication within that time frame, and half of the consumers who had trouble getting a prescription cited their doctor’s hesitation to prescribe opioids.
“Many patients have a legitimate need for opioid-based medications, which is one reason it is essential to empower clinicians with tools that ensure the safe prescribing of appropriate therapies” said G. Cameron Deemer, president of DrFirst. “DrFirst is committed to providing physicians and pharmacists greater transparency into patients’ prescribing histories so they can more confidently treat patients for pain, while still quickly identifying patients who may be at risk of abuse or addiction.”
Promoting Clinically-Appropriate Prescribing
PDMPs can provide clinicians reassurance that a patient has no signs of drug-seeking behaviors, giving providers more confidence to prescribe and dispense pain-relieving medications when appropriate.
“Though many physicians and pharmacists would like to consult a patient’s prescription drug history before writing a prescription, many prescribing solutions make the process overly difficult and time-consuming, failing to provide fundamental components such as complete data, in-workflow decision support, and analytics,” Deemer said. “To help clinicians make safe and clinically-appropriate prescribing decisions that address the needs of patients with chronic pain, we have developed a solution that makes consulting PDMPs as seamless and convenient as possible by enabling PDMP access through in-workflow prescribing tools.”
Opioid Crisis Survey Report Background/Methodology
Powered by Pollfish, DrFirst conducted a random, online survey of 199 U.S. consumers that were 34 percent male and 66 percent female. The largest age group represented was between 25 and 34 years old (31%), followed by 45-54 (28%) and greater than 54 (19%).
DrFirst is connected to over 300 EHRs and provides streamlined access to PDMPs in all available states, Washington DC, Guam, and Puerto Rico. Prescribers can initiate patient queries from within the e-prescribing workflow and thus avoid the need to log into a PDMP from a separate browser.
