Kroger Pharmacies Integrate with State of Michigan's Prescription Drug Monitoring System to Deter Prescription Drug Abuse with the Help of Appriss Health

LOUISVILLE, KY--(Marketwired - April 11, 2017) - Appriss Health, provider of the most comprehensive platform for substance use disorder in the U.S., today announced that pharmacies in Kroger stores in the State of Michigan have fully integrated the Michigan Automated Prescription System (MAPS) data and advanced analytics into their workflow to better address and protect all citizens from prescription drug abuse. The integration now enables Kroger, one of the world's largest retailers with more than 2,100 pharmacies, to directly access MAPS and other information through its electronic pharmacy management system for patients with controlled substance histories for Schedule 2-5 drugs that were prescribed and dispensed.

Michigan Governor Rick Snyder's administration is focused on addressing the serious problem of prescription drug abuse. In 2015, the Governor created a bipartisan task force to develop a statewide action plan that recommended improvements to MAPS. Later in 2016, Governor Snyder established the Prescription Drug and Opioid Abuse Commission to continue the work initiated by the task force.

"Kroger's integration into MAPS is a result of the collaboration between the State of Michigan and Appriss Health in the fight to prevent opioid abuse," said Michigan Lieutenant Governor Brian Calley, who chaired the task force. "I would like to thank Kroger for their investment and efforts to make it possible for pharmacists and practitioners to directly access and use MAPS data in their workflow and I am hopeful other large pharmacy chains and hospital systems will also soon fully integrate with MAPS."

Kroger's integration into MAPS was facilitated by Appriss Health, the state's partner in an enhanced prescription drug monitoring system that launched on April 4, 2017. Appriss Health provides the nation's most comprehensive platform for early identification, prevention and management of substance use disorder (SUD). Appriss Health's prescription drug monitoring program (PDMP) solution, PMP AWARxE, will replace the current MAPS and give Michigan the most advanced repository of controlled substance dispensing data. It will deliver relevant clinical decision support and critical insights to assist prescribers and dispensers in determining the most appropriate drug therapy for their patients.

"The pharmacists in all Michigan Kroger stores can now easily identify patients for whom controlled substance usage is unusually high and address overuse or abuse concerns without the need to log into different websites for the information they need in clinical decision making," said Bill Shinton, Director of Pharmacy Operations for The Kroger Co. "Immediate access to prescription drug monitoring programs within the pharmacy workflow puts the best information and insights available into the hands of our pharmacists to ensure the safety of our patients and to comply with state regulations."

Kroger has enabled in-workflow information access in 18 states and more than 1,300 pharmacies across the U.S. and expects to be sharing PDMP data between Michigan, Indiana and Ohio within the next month, as well.

Kroger accesses its prescription drug information through Appriss Health's NarxCheck solution, an advanced analytics platform that provides real-time clinical decision support to prescribers and dispensers, delivered via PMP Gateway, a managed service that enables compliance, access and interaction of the PDMP information, analytic insights, tools and resources all within the physician and pharmacist's daily workflow through integrations with electronic health record (EHR) and pharmacy management systems.

"We are proud to partner with the state of Michigan and Kroger to help identify, prevent and manage substance use disorder in their patient population," said Rob Cohen, President of Appriss Health.

"We encourage the state of Michigan, other states, healthcare providers, pharmacies and EHR and pharmacy management system providers to all work together to help make better informed decisions for early intervention and improved outcomes. Wide and deep adoption of PDMP information exchange and informed decision making support, such as advanced analytics, into daily workflow can effectively and efficiently identify potential problems with prescription drug addiction, misuse and abuse, affect treatment and outcomes and ultimately improve patient safety."

About Appriss Health

Appriss Health provides the nation's most comprehensive platform for early identification, prevention and management of substance use disorder (SUD), within clinical workflow. We provide government agencies with a repository of controlled substance dispensing information combined with advanced analytics, and deliver real-time clinical decisioning support, critical insights and interventions to physicians, pharmacists, and care team members through millions of patient encounters each year. Our solutions enable the assessment and management of clinical risk in order to positively impact patient safety and population health outcomes. For more information, please visit www.apprisshealth.com.