PMP InterConnect Integration Projects Bring Data Into Pharmacy Workflow, Ohio Supports Additional Deployments With $1.5 M In Funding

Recognizing the importance of expanding the use of prescription monitoring program (PMP) data in pharmacists’ workflow to enhance prescription drug abuse and diversion prevention efforts, NABP has been working to integrate other PMP services with NABP PMP InterConnect^®. Most recently, PMP Gateway – a service that works in tandem with PMP InterConnect – has been deployed in Kroger pharmacies across Ohio. PMP Gateway, owned and operated by Appriss, Inc, works with PMP InterConnect to automate requests for a patient’s PMP data, bringing it into the workflow of health care providers’ electronic health information systems, including pharmacy and hospital systems.

Kroger pharmacies in Ohio became the first pharmacy chain to implement use of PMP Gateway in July 2015, and Kroger is deploying the service at its pharmacies in additional states. To integrate PMP Gateway into its pharmacy dispensing software, Kroger pharmacies worked closely with the State of Ohio Board of Pharmacy, which operates the state’s PMP, the Ohio Automated Rx Reporting System (OARRS). As a result, Kroger pharmacists may now quickly access a patient’s controlled substance (CS) prescription history directly in their workflow. Access to this data can assist pharmacists in making the most appropriate dispensing decisions.

On October 26, 2015, Ohio Governor John Kasich announced that the state will support additional projects by investing up to $1.5 million a year to automate OARRS into electronic medical records and pharmacy dispensing systems. Funding will cover the initial costs of integration and the maintenance of connections between such systems, reports the Board in the November 2015 State of Ohio Board of Pharmacy Newsletter. Information for Ohio pharmacies and other health care institutions is available on the OARRS website.

PMP Gateway was deployed in Wisconsin Statewide Health Information Network (WISHIN) in September 2014, providing authorized health care providers with access to WISHIN the ability to quickly access PMP data from the Wisconsin Prescription Drug Monitoring Program. Kettering Health Network in Ohio launched use of PMP Gateway in April 2015, allowing its authorized health care providers the ability to access Ohio PMP data from within the hospital’s electronic health records workflow.

Importantly, no third-party entity will be able to access a state’s data through PMP Gateway without that state’s permission. As an example, Kroger’s partnership with the Board allowed the Board the opportunity to approve Kroger’s use of OARRS data. Ohio Board Executive Director Steven W. Schierholt, Esq, stated that the integration project “allows busy pharmacists the ability to quickly review patient data within their workflow to prevent the abuse and misuse of controlled substance medications.”

More information about PMP InterConnect is available in the Programs section of the NABP website. Pharmacies interested in integrating PMP data into their dispensing software workflow are advised to contact their state PMP or their pharmacy software vendor.