Nebraska first state to require all drugs reported to PDMP
Nebraska Health Information Initiative CEO Deb Bass said the agency is trying to identify and avoid adverse medical effects to reduce readmissions.
Nebraska is the first state to require reporting of all dispensed prescription drugs to the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program.
Nebraska Health Information Initiative CEO Deb Bass said the move could save lives – not only for those taking opioids, but potentially for anyone prescribed drugs.
“We’re after those adverse medical effects,” Bass said. “Often readmissions are connected to improper medication usage, or
they didn’t get their medications filled. They didn’t take the medication as they were supposed to.
There are also individuals that have drug-drug interaction and they end up being re-hospitalized.”
The PDMP nationwide initiative took effect Jan. 1, 2018, and other states have also been advancing their health IT efforts to support drug monitoring.
The Indiana Scheduled Prescription Electronic Collection and Tracking program, or INSPECT, is compiling controlled substance information into EHRs statewide to make it easier to identify fraudulent prescriptions. INSPECT performs two critical functions, officials note. It maintains a warehouse of patient information for healthcare professionals, and it provides a critical investigative tool for law enforcement.
Bass said that if adverse medical events connected to improper use of medication were fewer or eliminated, it would generate significant savings. Moreover, she said, identifying risks for patients who struggle with their medication adherence and adding case management to the equation would help the patients.
“You can go in either direction here,” she said, but both would be extremely beneficial in the future bending of the cost curve.
NEHII partners with the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services.
“They really are our state partners, and the state has to take the lead with this,” Bass said. “We deliver the technology and perform the work out in the field.”
The state partners are policymakers and administrators of the program, and they also work with NeHII on grant funding, as well as pharmacies and pharmacists.
“They deal on a regular basis with consumers that are asking t questions about medication protocol,” Bass said. “They understand that this can be a very helpful tool for prescribers rather than making frequent phone calls.”
NEHII and the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services tapped Rockville, Maryland-based DrFirst to capture state prescription information and deliver it to its PDMP.
“NeHII is focused on sharing timely and accurate patient health information in a secure environment to improve patient care,” Bass said. “DrFirst is working closely with us to deliver the functionality we need to further enhance our PDMP, and provide a complete view of a patient’s prescription history and the ability to catch potential red flags, including adverse reactions and opioid abuse.”
There is this list of medications that are deemed “inappropriate” in the elderly
Beers revised: Drugs not to use in older adults
Just watch our “bureaucratic overlords” will use these medication databases and apply the “beliefs” in the Beers Criteria as to what medications many of us are allowed to take… it won’t make any difference if you have been taking them for years and never had any noticeable side effects and/or if side effects that happened with minor in comparison to the benefits of taking one or more medications together.
I have stated before that they are changing the nomenclature that their is no longer any addicts or opiate dependent people… everyone who is taking a opiate legally/illegally is suffering from the disease/condition of “opiate use/abuse disorder”. Of course, these PMP can’t track someone using a opiate ILLEGALLY, but what about chronic pain pts that pass that 90 day threshold … are these new database going to start throwing RED FLAGS that a particular pt needs to be sent to REHAB ?
Could there be a RED FLAG thrown at the prescriber’s computer.. if there is a record of a benzo or muscle relaxant and opiate prescribed as being taken together and the prescriber’s computer system REFUSE/DENY sending the “offending prescriptions” to a pharmacy to be filled ?
IMO.. these BEERS CRITERIA are not much different than the CDC opiate dosing guidelines…. they are nothing more than guidelines/recommendation for healthcare professionals to be aware that there MAY BE SOME ADVERSE REACTIONS… as we all know… medical care should be individualized and “cookie cutter” treatment plans will not work for all pts.
How far away are we from there only being mostly a need for mid-level healthcare providers ( ARNP, NP, PA, Pharmacist) whose primary purpose is to collect symptoms, enter those into a computer and the artificial intelligence of the computer will produce a plan of treatment.. including medications ?
Filed under: General Problems
Aren’t we already there?