States have taken a number of steps to make PDMPs easier to use and access. PDMPs can also be used to send “proactive” reports to authorized users to protect patients at the highest risk and identify inappropriate prescribing trends. As a public health tool, PDMPs can be used by state health departments to understand the behavior of the epidemic and inform and evaluate interventions. PDMPs are more than just passive databases. Timely data, like in a “real-time” PDMP, maximizes the utility of the prescription history data, with significant implications for patient safety and public health. If there is a long interval between dispensing and submission into the state PDMP, providers and other PDMP users will not have information on patients’ most recent prescriptions. However, pharmacies submit this data to state PDMPs at varying intervals-ranging from monthly to daily or even in “real-time,” i.e., under five minutes. When pharmacists dispense controlled substances to patients, they have to enter the prescription into the state PDMP. Some states have implemented polices that require providers to check a state PDMP prior to prescribing certain controlled substances and in certain circumstances, and these policies have significant potential for ensuring that the utility and promise of PDMPs are maximized. However, a PDMP is only useful to health care providers if they check the system before prescribing. PDMPs are promising tools for health care providers to see patients’ prescribing histories to inform their prescribing decisions.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |