eClinicalWorks Develops Opioid Risk Tool to Assess A Patient’s Risk for Opioid Misuse

Health IT provider eClinicalWorks, announced this week the launch of their new Opioid Risk Tool (ORT), a smart form to assess and address a patient’s risk for opioid misuse and to improve physician adherence to treatment protocols. According to the CDC, more than 11.5 million Americans, aged 12 or older, reported misusing prescription opioids in 2016.

eClinicalWorks believes it shares a joint responsibility with its customers toward bringing solutions to patients to combat the opioid epidemic. By empowering adherence to treatment protocols, the ORT tool will increase the safety of prescribing for controlled substances and prevent and detect opioid misuse and abuse.

ORT Development Background

eClinicalWorks developed the ORT based on recent research and the CDC Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain. The ORT includes a clinical decision support system that estimates a patient’s risk and provides suggestions prescribing alternatives to opioids or opioid antagonists. ORT includes a sophisticated tool which calculates the morphine milliequivalents (MME) for patients and alerts the provider when the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommended opioid dose has been exceeded.

Patients prescribed opioids will receive educational notifications providing drug information and instructions for safe storage and disposal. By empowering adherence to treatment protocols, the tool will increase the safety of prescribing for controlled substances and prevent and detect opioid misuse and abuse.

eClinicalWorks supports Electronic Prescribing of Controlled Substances (EPCS), and in association with Appriss Health, eClinicalWorks has built a Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PDMP) integration that allows physicians to access state databases at the point of care. The partnership automatically integrates into the EHR, streamlining PDMP data access for providers, offering a solution to combat drug misuse, and specifically the opioid epidemic. Currently, 33 states are integrated through Appriss with PDMP and providers have already taken steps to manage improper prescribing and dispensing for controlled substances. The ORT will now further enhance access of PDMP data in real time for earlier identification and intervention, minimizing opioid misuse and improving clinical outcomes.

“The opioid epidemic is a problem of significant proportions that is only getting worse. At eClinicalWorks, we have a joint responsibility with healthcare providers towards developing solutions to improve patient care,” said Girish Navani, CEO and cofounder of eClinicalWorks. “The Opioid Risk Tool will assist in combating the opioid epidemic, ensuring patients have access to safer treatment for chronic pain and reduce the misuse of these drugs. We can do our part to limit the number of pills in circulation and believe the ORT will lead to progress in providing better and safer medicine across the nation.”