Prior to implementing the EHR tool, the health system’s physicians often prescribed more medication than a patient required or wanted because there was no official standard across prescribers and departments, according to the report.
To measure opioid prescribing and create consistency in prescribing patterns, Anne Arundel developed the measuring system within its EHR. With the guidelines, narcotics such as oxycodone and Percocet are converted into a standard called “morphine milligram equivalents,” according to the publication.
“It’s like converting all the currencies to U.S. dollars,” said Barry Meinsenberg, MD, chair of Anne Arundel’s medicine department and head of the health system’s opioid task force.
The new guidelines have helped reduce opioid prescriptions by 65 percent since 2017, according to the report. Maryland’s Opioid Operational Command Center has also included the EHR tracking method in its statewide list of best practices.
More articles on EHRs:
Illinois hospital adds meal, nutrition software to Epic EHR to ensure patient safety
Viewpoint: Epic’s opposition of HHS’ interoperability rule threatens health IT innovation
Microsoft Health exec supports HHS’ interoperability rule
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