Federal Officials To Use Health IT Tools To Help Fight Rx Drug Misuse

On Thursday, HHS' Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology announced a new initiative aimed at curbing prescription drug misuse by making it easier for health care providers and pharmacists to access patients' prescription drug histories, Reuters reports (Ebrahim, Reuters, 6/21).

The initiative, which will involve pilot projects in Indiana and Ohio, will evaluate the effects of expanding electronic prescription drug monitoring programs (Mosquera, Government Health IT, 6/21).

HHS' Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration is providing funding for the pilot projects (Goedert, Health Data Management, 6/21).

Indiana Project

The Indiana-based pilot project will test a system that allows emergency department staff to access a patient's prescription drug history through the Regenstrief Medical Record System.

Participants in the Indiana project include:

• Appriss, a technology company;
• The National Association of Boards of Pharmacy; and
• The state of Indiana.

Ohio Project

The Ohio-based pilot project will test whether incorporating a drug risk indicator into a patient's electronic health record affects clinical decisions.

Participants in the Ohio project include:

• Eagle Software, which provides software for tracking prescription drug use;
• Mitre, a not-for-profit engineering firm;
• The Springfield Center for Family Medicine (Barr, Modern Healthcare, 6/21); and
• The state of Ohio (Health Data Management, 6/21).