Louisville, KY, Feb. 01, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Appriss Health, provider of the most comprehensive platform for substance use disorder in the U.S., today announced that North Carolina has signed an agreement to share prescription drug monitoring program (PDMP) data across state lines via PMP InterConnect, the first and only widely-used PDMP interstate data sharing platform in the nation. PMP InterConnect creates a more holistic view of the controlled substance prescriptions a person has received, regardless of the state or pharmacy in which those prescriptions were dispensed.
By joining PMP InterConnect, users of North Carolina’s Controlled Substances Reporting System (CSRS) will now be able to obtain multi-state information about their patients’ controlled substance prescriptions. Forty-five states, including all of North Carolina’s border states, have now agreed to share data via PMP InterConnect, and hundreds of millions of transactions will happen on the platform this year.
“This new data available through the CSRS portal gives clinicians the ability to get additional information on their patients’ opioid prescription histories and make more informed decisions before prescribing an opioid,” said North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Mandy Cohen, M.D. “I encourage all providers who prescribe controlled substances to register with the CSRS portal and use it.”
Since their inception, PDMPs have proven to be effective in combating prescription drug abuse, misuse, and abuse on a local level. However, the issue of interstate data sharing was an often-cited priority that was not addressed until the development and successful nationwide deployment of PMP InterConnect.
“PMP InterConnect is by far the most efficient and widely-adopted way to share PDMP data between states,” said Rob Cohen, President, Appriss Health. “All 50 states could quickly and easily be engaged in national PDMP data sharing if they implemented the PMP InterConnect technology – which is available at no cost to the states.”
The use of PMP InterConnect to share data has grown significantly from supporting a few thousand interstate transactions in 2011 to supporting more than 15 million transaction per month today. In collaboration with the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP), Appriss Health built and operates PMP InterConnect. PMP InterConnect is governed by a Steering Committee, comprised exclusively of the 45 representatives of the PDMPs that are participating in the platform. The Steering Committee serves as the governing body as it relates to the administration and function of PMP InterConnect.
“Policy issues, not technical issues, are preventing the remaining states from sharing PDMP data,” continued Cohen. “The PMP InterConnect platform is established, mature, and secure, and can easily support connections to every PDMP in the U.S. With some policy and regulatory refinement, all states can be sharing data through the national PMP InterConnect platform.”
For more information about interstate data sharing with PMP InterConnect, please visit www.pmpinterconnect.com.
About Appriss Health
Appriss Health provides the nation's most comprehensive platform for early identification, prevention and management of substance use disorder (SUD). We provide state government agencies with the most advanced repository of controlled substance dispensing data, and deliver real-time clinical decision support, critical insights and interventions to physicians, pharmacists, and care team members. Our solutions help prescribers and dispensers assess and manage clinical risk by providing access to critical information at the point of care for hundreds of millions of patient encounters each year. Appriss Health provides the platform for prescription drug monitoring programs (PDMPs) and access to non-PDMP data, analytics, tools and resources from PDMPs, across state lines, and integrated within care team workflows. Sharing #knowledgeforgood, our solutions are improving patient safety and outcomes. For more information, please visit www.apprisshealth.com.
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