Healthcare IT security companies continue strategizing on how they can make their way into the conversation surrounding opioid abuse by developing solutions designed to assist healthcare organizations meet legal requirements as states strengthen prescription drug laws through the implementation of electronic prescribing of controlled substances (EPCS) and prescription drug monitoring programs (PDMPs).
Wanting to be part of the discussion, Imprivata (NYSE: IMPR) partnered with Cambridge Health Alliance (CHA), a healthcare system in Massachusetts, to assist the state with meeting DEA requirements by suppying CHA with an authentication platform designed to provide EPCS-enabled care providers with identify-proofing, two-factor authentication, and auditing and reporting.
While much of the talk about opioid abuse, misuse and overdose involves PDMPs, the EPCS process, which allows physicians to send prescriptions directly to the pharmacy electronically, has made its own contributions in the fight against the opioid epidemic.
“This is much more efficient for providers because it gives them a single, electronic prescribing workflow for all medications,” said Dr. Sean Kelly, chief medical officer at Imprivata and emergency physician at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. “It’s also better for patients because it means fewer trips to the doctor’s office for refills and shorter wait times at pharmacies waiting for prescriptions to be filled.”
He added: “EPCS also addresses prescription drug abuse by reducing the risk of drug diversion and fraud associated with paper-based prescriptions. The physician’s DEA number is not exposed, and the prescription itself cannot be altered.”
Called Imprivata Confirm ID, the hands-free authentication platform integrates with EpicCare, which is CHA’s electronic health records (EHR) system. The product also allows organizations to enroll providers once they’ve been sufficiently identity-proofed.
Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker in June 2015 pledged to enhance the state’s PDMP program by creating a new tool that will allow prescribers to see whether a patient is seeing multiple physicians to obtain prescription painkillers.
Arthur F. Ream III, director of IT Applications and CISO at CHA, told Forbes in an interview that he believes using the combination of EPCS and the state’s prescription monitoring program can be an “effective one-two technology punch in helping to combat opioid abuse.”
According to the Centers for Diease Control and Prevention (CDC), there were 16,235 deaths involving prescription opioids in 2013, an increase of 1% from 2012. Total drug overdose deaths in 2013 hit 43,982, up 6% from 2012.
“EPCS puts multiple levels of security in place to protect controlled substances from being diverted for fraudulent purposes,” he said. “Because the prescription is sent electronically from the physician to the pharmacy, it cannot be counterfeited or forged. This is safer for patients and a better option for our physicians.”
In related news, the Obama administration this week unveiled a new plan that aims to tackle the country’s growing heroin problem by diminishing heroin trafficking and increasing support prevention efforts.
Heroin use has more than doubled among young adults between the ages of 18-25 in the past decade, according to the CDC. There were 8,257 heroin-related deaths in 2013, up 39% from 2012.
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