Presentation slides by Intel from October 1, 2018 Opioid Crisis Hill Lunch Briefing. Presentation discussed block chain, LifeWIRE, and Qlik.

Presentation slides by Paul L. Uhrig, Chief Administrative, Legal, and Privacy Officer, Surescripts, from October 1, 2018 Opioid Crisis Hill Lunch Briefing. Presentation discussed controlled substance prescriptions and medication history.

Presentation slides by Howard Rosen, CEO of LifeWIRE, from October 1, 2018 Opioid Crisis Hill Lunch Briefing. Presentation discussed patient education, opioid management, telehealth for pain management, and a continuous community tracking model.

October 2018 report from the PEW Charitable Trusts.

This report lays out Pew’s research findings and recommendations, including steps that can be taken in the near term to improve patient matching and the infrastructure needed for more robust progress in the medium term and long term.

EPCS Electronic Prescribing of Controlled Substances

What is e-prescribing?

E-prescribing (electronic prescribing) is a technological framework that allows medical practitioners to electronically write, then send prescriptions to a pharmacy. E-prescribing replaces handwritten prescription pads, faxes, and calling in prescriptions via phone. According to Surescripts data from their 2017 National Progress Report:

• 77% of ALL prescriptions are e-prescribed
• 90% of prescriptions for non-controlled substances are e-prescribed
• Only 21% of prescriptions for controlled substances (opioids, narcotics, etc.) are e-prescribed

Why is Electronic Prescribing of Controlled Substances (EPCS) important?

• EPCS allows for the security of electronic records, a reduction in fraud and abuse, and an improvement in patient safety
• EPCS positions pharmacies and providers to better share patient information by tracking the frequency, length of time, and dosages of patients using opioids
• The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) revised regulations to allow EPCS on a federal level in 2010. All states adopted the practice by 2015, but most did not have a mandate in place

Does EPCS help address prescription abuse? YES and New York is a model.

• In March 2016, EPCS was mandated for most doctors in the state of New York
• 97.8% of pharmacies are e-prescribing and 93.8% are EPCS enabled
• There was a 98% reduction in doctor shopping in the state
• There was a 70% reduction in prescription pad theft and loss

What are Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs (PDMPs) and why are they important?

• PDMPs are electronic databases that track controlled substance prescriptions in each state
• PDMPs can provide health authorities with real time information about prescribing and patient behaviors to facilitate nimble and targeted responses to the opioid crisis

What opioid legislations are pending as of 10/2/2018?

• H.R. 6, Substance Use-Disorder Prevention that Promotes Opioid Recovery and Treatment (SUPPORT) for Patients and Communities Act, draws on sixty-six bills that address opioid use prevention, recovery, and treatment and can affect electronic prescribing, prescription drug monitoring programs, and HIPAA laws, and include HR 5009, HR 3528, and HR 5801
• H.R. 6 sister legislation, S. 2680 The Opioid Crisis Response Act (OCRA)
• H.R. 5009. S581. Jesse’s Law requires drug addiction status to be added to all medical records
• H.R. 3528. Every Prescription Conveyed Securely Act requires all controlled substances prescribed by clinicians under Medicaid Part D to be electronically prescribed
• H.R. 5801. Providers Are Required To Note Experiences in Record Systems to Help In-need Patients (PARTNERSHIP) Act requires all states to establish prescription drug monitoring programs and healthcare providers to check the PDMP for the Medicaid patient’s prescription

June 14, 2018 press release from the American Medical Association.

The promise of augmented intelligence (AI) in spurring technological innovation in medicine has generated growing interest among health care stakeholders. It also has spurred a range of concerns about the novel challenges in the design, implementation, and use—especially how AI will be incorporated into the practice of medicine and affect patients. With those varied perspectives, the American Medical Association passed its first policy addressing AI at its Annual Meeting, adopting broad policy recommendations for health and technology stakeholders on this issue.

Opioid Crisis Legislation

A bipartisan bill has been released meant to address the growing concerns around the opioid crisis.  The document is 660 pages long, and addresses topics such as Medicaid provisions, FDA and controlled substance provisions, offsets, other Medicare provisions, and public health provisions.

The current version of the full bill can be downloaded below.  

Presentation slides from Sean Khozin, Associate Director, Oncology Center of Excellence, Director of INFORMED. From 9.6.18 eHI Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning Executive Roundtable Meeting.

AACR Cancer Progress Report 2018

The American Association for Cancer Research released a comprehensive report documenting the current state of the fight against cancer with a look to the future.  This includes research regarding cancer development, cancer prevention, early detection, and harnessing research discoveries for patient benefit, in addition to guidance for the future and public policy.  

The full report can be downloaded below.