Meditech integrated access to state-regulated electronic prescription drug monitoring programs into its newest EHR and patient administration system, a web-based platform called Expanse.
Meditech added the capability through a collaboration with DrFirst, a medication management solutions provider. DrFirst links cooperating state PDMPs together, providing users with a comprehensive view of a patient's prescription history of controlled substances at the point of care.
"Previously, prescription drug information was accessed outside of the EHR, forcing providers to sign into other systems and manually search for patient data," Hoda Sayed-Friel, executive vice president of Meditech, said in a news release. "The inconvenient process posed time constraints for providers, and often led to disjointed patient information."
Meditech officials hope one-click access to these controlled substance prescription histories will improve physicians' opioid prescribing practices by encouraging them to change a patient's prescribing plan or suggest counseling when needed.