For immediate release: January 4, 2012 (12-001)
Contacts:
Allison Cook, Communications Office
360-236-4022
Prescription drug monitoring information available to doctors and pharmacists
New system aims to cut prescription abuse and improve patient safety
OLYMPIA
– The Washington State Prescription Monitoring Program has collected more than
3.1 million records for controlled substance prescriptions across the state. And
now prescribers have access to this information.
“Keeping track of
people’s medications improves patient safety and care,” says Secretary of Health
Mary Selecky. “The system is an effective tool for prescribers that also
protects patients.”
Last month practitioners and pharmacists started creating accounts to track
patient prescription information. Since then, the most dispensed drug was
Hydrocodone/Acetaminophen, the generic form of Vicodin. It accounts for more
than 800,000 prescriptions and represents more than 44 million pills.
Practitioners can
register for an account online
(www.wapmp.org). Once
registration is approved they can request and review patient information.
Prescribers and pharmacists can use this data to intervene with patients
earlier. They can also identify dangerous drug interactions, watch for misuse,
and recognize under-managed pain or the need for substance abuse treatment.
The Department of Health already
provides access to this system to our agency’s health professional licensing
investigators, the Health Care Authority, the Department of Labor & Industries,
and the Department of Corrections.
More information on the
program, also known as Prescription Review, is available online
(www.doh.wa.gov/hsqa/PMP/public.htm).
The
Department of Health website
(www.doh.wa.gov) is your source for a healthy dose of information. Also,
find us on Facebook
and
follow us on Twitter. ###
