Connection between Alaska State PDMP and Collective Medical goes live for hospitals across the state

Connection gives hospitals pertinent information on prescriptions at the point of care; arms providers with the insights needed to combat the opioid epidemic

Collective Medical, delivering the nation’s largest and most effective network for care collaboration, today announced that hospitals across the State of Alaska now have access to state prescription drug monitoring program (PDMP) information at the point of care. This connection builds upon the value of Alaska’s 2017 statewide rollout of the Collective network and platform, led by a collaboration between the Alaska State Hospital and Nursing Home Association (ASHNHA), the State of Alaska, and the Alaska Chapter of the American College of Emergency Physicians (AK-ACEP).

Alaska’s healthcare system serves a population of 740,000 spread across 663,000 square miles. Collaborative efforts to curb the opioid epidemic and better coordinate care across this rugged and massive geography have received national attention in recent months. In addition to the creation and adoption of evidence-based, clinical prescribing guidelines by providers across the state, ASHNHA and AK-ACEP pushed the statewide rollout and adoption of the Collective network and platform in 2017 so that providers could identify and collaborate on their highest needs patients in real-time.

Dr. Anne Zink, FACEP, emergency medicine director at Mat-Su Regional Medical Center in Palmer, Alaska, describes the combination of the Collective network, the insights provided by the PDMP and statewide prescribing guidelines as “transformational.” She adds that, “At Mat-Su, specifically, we’ve seen a 61 percent reduction in opioid scripts written between 2015 and 2017 and a 47 percent reduction in opioids given in the ED.”

The live connection between the Collective network and the state PDMP, powered by Appriss Health’s PMP Gateway clinical workflow integration solution, will add even more value to providers across all points of care—not just those in emergent situations—by having the right information in real-time to quickly identify a patient with a potential opioid addiction.

But, as noted by Becky Hultberg, President and CEO at ASHNHA, “the goal isn’t to simply avoid writing a prescription for opiates. With the insights delivered through Collective by the PDMP, providers can change the conversation with a patient who has a possible addiction problem. Physicians can direct them toward help and coordinate with the patient’s broader care team to put them on the path to health.”

The Collective network is live in states across the country including Washington, California, Oregon, Massachusetts, Virginia, West Virginia, Alaska, New Mexico and many others. The network and Collective’s real-time, risk-adjusted event notification and care collaboration platform serves all points of care, including emergency department, inpatient, post-acute, mental and behavioral, and ambulatory settings, as well as ACOs and health plans.

“Early feedback indicates the collaboration between ASHNHA, AK-ACEP and the State of Alaska is making a huge impact not just on the opioid epidemic, but on delivering better care to all patients,” says Chris Klomp, CEO of Collective Medical. “We’re honored and proud to support this effort; it’s an example of how we can make an incredible impact, collectively, when working toward the common goal of catching patients before they fall.”

Collective is endorsed as a best practice for emergency medicine by the American College of Emergency Physicians and has been recognized by Inc. Magazine and by the MountainWest Capital Network as one of Utah’s fastest growing companies.

This press release was provided by Collective Medical.