Opioid Prescribing
Proposed Legislative Changes
Washington State
On the current legislative agenda are proposed bills limiting initial opioid prescriptions, requiring providers to discuss the risks of (and offer alternatives to) opioids, and mandating use of the Prescription Monitoring Program.
CMS
CMS recently released a proposed rule that Medicare beneficiaries found to be inappropriately using opioids must receive prescriptions from a single clinician and a single pharmacy.
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Of the 45 states reporting to AHRQ, Washington has the second-highest rate for opioid-related hospitalizations for individuals aged 65 or more. |
Opioid misuse has become a national healthcare crisis. Qualis Health is helping address the issue in two ways:
Generating insightful, actionable analyses of opioid utilization by Idaho and Washington Medicare beneficiaries
- See the results of our recent investigation into Washington Medicare beneficiaries' prescription opioid use. For example, we found that this population suffered more than 4,300 non-fatal opioid overdoses in July 2016 - June 2017.
- We have also begun examining the links between opioid use and serious falls by Medicare beneficiaries. Get a preview of this analysis.
Providing technical support across healthcare settings
We help providers implement best practices in opioid prescribing and pain management, preventing and tracking adverse drug events (ADEs), and streamlining workflows to enable more effective, efficient, and consistent patient interactions.
- See our sampling of opioid-specific clinical guidelines and tools
- We are partnering with four universities to train pharmacy students about opioids, develop online screening tools for potential adverse drug events, and support them in using the Idaho and Washington Prescription Monitoring Programs.
- Let us know if you have questions or concerns about this work. In addition, healthcare organizations that are already working with us through our other Medicare-funded projects may initiate opioid-related discussions with their quality improvement consultant.
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