The Challenge
Pennsylvania requires providers to query the state’s prescription drug monitoring program (PDMP) database each time they prescribe an opioid or a benzodiazepine. But doing so required University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) providers to exit the electronic health record (EHR) and log in to the state’s web-based PDMP portal. The process interrupted providers’ workflow and took valuable time away from face-to-face patient interactions. Because the process was cumbersome, it increased the risk that providers would not check PDMP databases and, in not doing so, unknowingly prescribe opioids the patient had already filled with prescriptions from other physicians. With more than 6,000 UPMC physicians conducting 6 to 7 million outpatient visits a year and an even greater number of telephone encounters annually, safely and effectively managing the many patients seeking pain relief — especially those managing chronic pain — was a priority.
Opioid Use in Pennsylvania
- 14 Pennsylvanians die every day due to overdose.
- 47 opioid prescriptions are given per 100 people across Pennsylvania, about the same as the national average.
The Solution
UPMC turned to Bamboo Health to integrate PDMP access into its Epic EHR using PMP Gateway. The integration enables providers to access PDMP data for patients in their workflow, including data from neighboring West Virginia, Ohio, Maryland and Delaware.
The results: providers saved time. Post-implementation, providers reported that a process that historically took minutes to check had been reduced to seconds. One pain clinic physician noted, “This has changed my life. The amount of time saved is unbelievable.”
Beyond time saved, the integration has supported important discussions with patients at the point of care. Dr. Anthony Fiorillo, Medical Director of Ambulatory Health Record at UPMC, and an internal medicine physician, often shows his patients their PDMP record during visits. “Our monitors are front and center with many patients, and this infuses an element of truth in the conversation about medications.”
“Trying to find PDMP data on a patient in the tri-state area using the old system was extremely difficult. It caused a lot of dissatisfaction and physician burnout. PMP Gateway now makes it much faster and easier to access data, allowing physicians to spend more time focused on their patients.”
– Dr. Kristian Feterik, eRecord Medical Director, Interoperability UPMC
“UPMC physicians have come to expect the Gateway-enabled PDMP access in the EHR as the norm for managing narcotics, and even those who may have been skeptical at first about the need for their particular practice have found it to be helpful in care discussions with patients.”
Dr. Anthony Fiorillo Medical Director of Ambulatory Health Record UPMC
About University Of Pittsburgh Medical Center
UPMC is a $21 billion world-renowned healthcare provider based in Pittsburgh and serving communities in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, New York and Ohio. The organization manages more than 40 academic, community and specialty hospitals and 700 doctors’ offices and outpatient sites.
About Bamboo Health
Bamboo Health empowers healthcare organizations to improve behavioral and physical health outcomes through the most powerful care collaboration network with Real-Time Care Intelligence™. By providing real-time insights during pivotal care moments, clients are enabled to perform life-improving actions and deliver seamless, high-quality and cost-effective whole-person healthcare. From coast to coast, Bamboo Health partners with five of the six major pharmacy chains, 52 states and territories, 100% of the top 10 best hospitals and more than half of the country’s largest health plans to improve more than 1 billion patient encounters annually.
