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8:30 AM - HIMSS Europe
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e-Health 2025 Conference and Tradeshow
2025-06-01 - 2025-06-03    
10:00 am - 5:00 pm
The 2025 e-Health Conference provides an exciting opportunity to hear from your peers and engage with MEDITECH.
HIMSS Europe
2025-06-10 - 2025-06-12    
8:30 am - 5:00 pm
Transforming Healthcare in Paris From June 10-12, 2025, the HIMSS European Health Conference & Exhibition will convene in Paris to bring together Europe’s foremost health [...]
38th World Congress on  Pharmacology
2025-06-23 - 2025-06-24    
11:00 am - 4:00 pm
About the Conference Conference Series cordially invites participants from around the world to attend the 38th World Congress on Pharmacology, scheduled for June 23-24, 2025 [...]
2025 Clinical Informatics Symposium
2025-06-24 - 2025-06-25    
11:00 am - 4:00 pm
Virtual Event June 24th - 25th Explore the agenda for MEDITECH's 2025 Clinical Informatics Symposium. Embrace the future of healthcare at MEDITECH’s 2025 Clinical Informatics [...]
International Healthcare Medical Device Exhibition
2025-06-25 - 2025-06-27    
8:30 am - 5:00 pm
Japan Health will gather over 400 innovative healthcare companies from Japan and overseas, offering a unique opportunity to experience cutting-edge solutions and connect directly with [...]
Electronic Medical Records Boot Camp
2025-06-30 - 2025-07-01    
10:30 am - 5:30 pm
The Electronic Medical Records Boot Camp is a two-day intensive boot camp of seminars and hands-on analytical sessions to provide an overview of electronic health [...]
Events on 2025-06-01
Events on 2025-06-10
HIMSS Europe
10 Jun 25
France
Events on 2025-06-23
38th World Congress on  Pharmacology
23 Jun 25
Paris, France
Events on 2025-06-24
Events on 2025-06-25
International Healthcare Medical Device Exhibition
25 Jun 25
Suminoe-Ku, Osaka 559-0034
Events on 2025-06-30

Events

Mergers-Acquisitions

Imprivata Partners With Cambridge Health Alliance

Imprivata Partners With Cambridge Health Alliance

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.

Follow CJ on Forbes and Twitter for more coverage of end-of-life care and the culture of medicine.

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