axialHealthcare Partners With Surescripts to Improve Patient Safety Amidst National Opioid Crisis
New data sharing agreement will alert providers to patient risk information and intervention recommendations earlier in care journey
axialHealthcare, a national leader in pain care and opioid medication solutions, today announced a collaboration with Surescripts, the nation’s leading health information network, to leverage prescription fill information for patients whose care is monitored by axialHealthcare’s capabilities. With more than 115 people in the United States dying from an opioid overdose every day, there’s a need for prescribers to have relevant information at their fingertips when they are prescribing medications that have a high potential for dependence, addiction, and overdose.
“Our new partnership with Surescripts further demonstrates our commitment to developing innovative and timely solutions to improve clinical outcomes for those impacted by the opioid epidemic,” said John J. Donahue, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer at axialHealthcare. “We expect to add immediate value for our health plan clients and their members by giving providers the most current and comprehensive patient information at the point of care.”
Using health plan medical and pharmacy data, axialHealthcare’s analytical models assess patient risk related to pain management, opioid use, and opioid use disorder. Patient risk alerts and intervention recommendations are then delivered to care providers via interoperable technology and supplemented by decision support from axialHealthcare’s team of licensed clinical pharmacists.
The incorporation of medication history from Surescripts, which processes nearly 4.8 million prescriptions each day, has significant implications for improving patient health and safety. Transactions impacting axialHealthcare’s covered lives will be flagged automatically to provide near real time prescription information, enabling better decision-making and earlier intervention by providers in cases of escalating patient risk, including dangerous drug interactions, multiple opioid prescribers, and medication adherence issues. Incorporating critical patient information into provider workflow has become increasingly important as recent studies question the effectiveness of state prescription drug monitoring programs.
“Our collaboration with axialHealthcare is another example of how we’re delivering actionable intelligence that is key to informing safer, more effective and more efficient clinical decisions,” said Tom Skelton, Chief Executive Officer of Surescripts. “By arming healthcare professionals with a more complete picture of the clinical care and prescription opioid therapies that their patients have received, we’re taking meaningful steps toward coordinating evidence-based care to protect patients and fight the opioid crisis.”
axialHealthcare’s capabilities use advanced analytics and the latest evidence to drive safe and effective pain care and addiction treatment, as well as limit the poor clinical outcomes and unwarranted healthcare spend that occurs when patients escalate into chronic pain, long term opioid use, dependence, and addiction.