VA Medical Centers to Access State Prescription Drug Monitoring Program Databases Using Appriss Health's PMP Gateway Solution

LOUISVILLE, Ky., Nov. 19, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Appriss Health, a trusted partner 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.

Section 134 of the Mission Act requires VHA providers and their delegates to connect to the national network of PDMPs for the purpose of querying and receiving data to support the safe and effective prescribing of controlled substances to covered patients. PMP InterConnect, built by Appriss Health in partnership with the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP), connects 52 of the 54 PDMPs across the United States and U.S. territories, serving as the national network of PDMPs for Section 134 Mission Act compliance.

"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."

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.

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.

About Appriss Health 

Appriss Health provides trusted technology solutions to federal and state governments, payers, health systems, clinicians, pharmacies, and health information exchanges working to improve public health. In collaboration with state governments, we built the nation's most comprehensive, standards-driven data integration platform to combat the nation's opioid epidemic. Our platform connects nearly all U.S. states, close to 1 million prescribers and half a million care team members, more than 30,000 pharmacies, and thousands of hospitals, managing more than 400 million daily transactions. It enables seamless in-workflow visibility to patients' prescription drug history and a comprehensive solution that improves access to needed care for people with behavioral health conditions and social determinants of health challenges. Our real-time clinical decision support and data-driven insights are integrated into the workflows of more than 130 electronic health records and every national pharmacy chain. Combined, our data analytics solutions and bi-directional communication capabilities support whole-person care and rehabilitation for physical and behavioral health conditions and substance use disorders, improving health outcomes and reducing overall healthcare spending.

For more information, please visit www.apprisshealth.com and follow Appriss Health on Twitter and LinkedIn.

Media Contact
Sofia Kosmetatos
Amendola Communications (for Appriss Health)
646-431-8423
[email protected]

SOURCE Appriss Health