JAMA Prescription Drug Abuse Article Features Interview with Patrick J. Burns about SafeUseNow℠
ENCINITAS, Calif. (INTERNAL) March 19, 2014
JAMA article features SafeUseNow, its approach to addressing prescription drug abuse, and efforts that payers are taking to combat it.
Asked by JAMA reporter, Bridget Keuhn, to comment on the diffference between SafeUseNow and the state-run prescription monitoring programs, Patrick J. Burns, President/CEO of Principled Strategies, commented that, “[i]t’s taking it light-years ahead of what prescribers can do with a prescription drug monitoring program.” Mr. Burns further explained that the system examines patient, pharmacy, and prescription data that physicians wouldn’t have time to bring together and analyze.
The article cited a pilot program with Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield in New Jersey, where the 1200 physicians with the highest risk scores received reports comparing their prescribing patterns to others in their specialty. The reports included information about patients receiving multiple prescriptions for opioids and individuals being concurrently prescribed medications that pose a risk when used with opioids.
About 500 of those physicians took part in a follow-up phone call with a PharmD to discuss the report. Those physicians received 6 months of follow-up information, such as topical e-mails about safe medication disposal or trends in prescription drug abuse.