Express Scripts and Appriss Health Create New Military Health System Prescription Drug Monitoring Program

New Military Health System PDMP Closes Crucial Information Gap to Improve Safety of Controlled Substances for Military Members and their Families

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Express Scripts

Apr 23, 2019, 08:07 ET

ST. LOUIS and LOUISVILLE, Ky., April 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Express Scripts, one of the nation's leading pharmacy benefit managers, and Appriss Health, provider of the most comprehensive prescription drug monitoring platform for addressing substance use disorder (SUD) in the U.S., today announced the creation of a Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PDMP) for the Military Health System (MHS). The MHS PDMP is now the 54th PDMP in the U.S., and the 44th PDMP operated by Appriss Health.

The MHS PDMP will help improve the safety of controlled substances by closing a critical information gap between Military Treatment Facilities (MTFs) and non-Military healthcare providers. It will allow community based prescribers at clinics, hospitals and local pharmacies to see if a Schedule II-V medication -- such as an opioid, anabolic steroid, sleep medication or ADHD medication -- was recently prescribed to their patient by another prescriber, including one at a Military Treatment Facility, in an effort to reduce potential abuse.

The MHS has participated in state-run PDMPs by reporting information related to Schedule II-V medications dispensed to military members and dependents from community and retail pharmacies, as well as the Express Scripts Home Delivery pharmacy. However, until its collaboration with Express Scripts, Appriss Health and the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP), MHS was unable to share similar information from MTF pharmacies due to challenges with differing data reporting requirements in each state.

"The MHS relies on thousands of civilian providers, such as doctors, nurses and pharmacists in hospitals, clinics and pharmacies to care for members of our armed forces and their families," said Lynne Nowak, M.D., Chief Physician Experience Officer, Express Scripts. "We know how important it is for clinicians and other personnel to have a complete picture of a patient's prescribing information to help combat prescription drug addiction and abuse across the entire country, and we encourage all prescribers to include the MHS PDMP in their everyday practice."

Within its first 30 days of operation, the new MHS PDMP is sharing critical PDMP data and analytics with twenty-nine (29) PDMPs throughout the United States and U.S. Territories, with the goal of sharing this data with all 49 PDMPs across the country.

The Defense Health Agency (DHA) -- a joint, integrated Combat Support Agency that supports the health and medical needs of the Unites States Armed Forces and oversees the MHS -- tasked Express Scripts with creating the new MHS PDMP to close this information gap as part of its larger role administering the TRICARE Pharmacy Program's outpatient pharmacy benefit. Express Scripts chose to partner with Appriss Health to design and deliver this innovative MHS PDMP to help identify, prevent and manage SUD within the MHS' patient population.

"We are pleased to partner with Express Scripts and the Military Health System to deploy a new and robust PDMP to help address the opioid crisis effectively for our servicemen and women, and their families, all across the U.S.," said Rob Cohen, President, Appriss Health. "The opioid epidemic knows no boundaries. Our goal at Appriss Health is to play an essential role in the effort to help address and treat substance use disorder nationwide. We are long-time, responsible leaders that are providing 'knowledge for good' for a patient population and healthcare system that needs it, and we are looking forward to working closely with MHS and Express Scripts to help manage this wide-spread crisis together."

Today, Appriss Health has more than 1.35 million active users of its PDMP platform managing over 350 million prescriptions across the nation in 2018. Leveraging existing PDMP data sharing and connectivity infrastructure remains a focus for 2019 and beyond. In response to the evolving opioid and illicit drug epidemic, state and federal partners continue to expand their PDMPs to include important clinical tools, analytics, additional non-PDMP data and clinical workflow integrations to help clinicians manage their patients more effectively. Through a standards-based approach such as SMART on FHIR, prescribers and pharmacists can take full advantage of state and federal PDMP innovations and clinical tools designed to make a measureable impact on the opioid crisis.

Express Scripts, part of Cigna, has proudly served TRICARE, the health program for 9.4 million uniformed service members, retirees and their families, for more than 10 years.

About Express Scripts

Express Scripts is a health care opportunity company. Empowered by our legacy as an industry innovator, we dare to imagine — and deliver — a better health care system with greater choice, predictability, affordability and improved outcomes. From pharmacy and medical benefits management, to specialty pharmacy care and everything in between – we uncover opportunities to make health care better.

We stand alongside our clients and partners, collaborating to develop personalized solutions that make a meaningful difference in the lives of those we serve, whenever and wherever it is needed. We believe health care can do more.

We are Champions For Better^SM.

Express Scripts, part of Cigna, unlocks new value in pharmacy, medical, and beyond to further total health for all.

About Appriss Health

Appriss Health provides the nation's most comprehensive platform for early identification, prevention, and management of substance use disorder (SUD). We provide state government agencies with the most advanced repository of controlled substance dispensing data and deliver real-time clinical decision support, critical insights, and interventions to physicians, pharmacists, and care team members. Our solutions help prescribers and dispensers assess and manage clinical risk by providing access to critical information at the point of care for hundreds of millions of patient encounters each year. Appriss Health provides the platform for PDMPs and access to non-PDMP data, analytics, tools, and resources from PDMPs, across state lines, and integrated within care team workflows. Sharing #knowledgeforgood, our solutions are improving patient safety and outcomes. For more information, please visit www.apprisshealth.com.

David Griffin
Vice President of Marketing and Communications
Appriss Health
[email protected]
502-815-3880

Jennifer Luddy
Express Scripts
[email protected]
201-269-6402

SOURCE Express Scripts