A recent ONC blog post showed physicians have widespread access to data from their state’s prescription drug monitoring program (PDMP). According to a 2021 national survey of office-based physicians, more than three-quarters of physician prescribers reported checking the PDMP prior to prescribing controlled substances to a patient for the first time. Prescriber use laws and ongoing efforts to integrate electronic health record (EHR) systems with state PDMPs likely contributed to high levels of PDMP use among physicians.

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Combatting the opioid epidemic has long been an HHS priority, and the department provides resources and technical assistance to states, health care providers, and other interested parties to assist in their efforts to address the crisis. ONC helps address the opioid epidemic through its support for the adoption of health IT and promotion of nationwide health information exchange, including through opportunities created by prescription drug monitoring programs (PDMPs). The significance of this work is evident,

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In case you missed it, Health Datapalooza happened toward the end of February. The aptly named conference always invokes a bit of fun while at the same time being a high octane mix of data scientists, policy makers, health care leaders, entrepreneurs, researchers, and patient advocates.

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In a brief titled The Feasibility of Social Determinants of Health Clinical Decision Support, ONC explores how clinical practice guidelines that include social determinants of health (SDOH) factors present an opportunity to advance health equity and improve health outcomes. A standardized approach to clinical decision support (CDS) using SDOH factors can enable clinical practice guidelines to become part of routine care delivery. Such an approach has the potential for broad implementation in a variety of settings and with various systems.

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