What's in the Newsletter

• Project Updates
• Naloxone Dispensing Stats
• Opioids in the News 
• REDCap Tips 
• Available Recordings

Project Updates

ONE Rx Growth
As of September 24, 2019, 35 pharmacies have completed 2939 patient screenings. This is a remarkable achievement. We are on track to complete 3000 patient screenings before the one-year anniversary of ONE Rx.  This is a credit to all the hard-working, patient-centered pharmacists across North Dakota who are making ONE Rx happen. The figure below shows the number of reported screenings each month during the first year of the program.


Sept is extrapolated to the entire month, dashed line represents the 3-month floating average.

Naloxone Dispensing Stats

Pharmacists utilizing the ONE Rx screening process have a 12% naloxone dispensing rate to those identified at risk of overdose.  A recent MMW report showed a 1.45% naloxone rate for high risk opioids.  The ONE Rx rate is over 8 times the national average.  Keep up the good work in getting naloxone into the hands of those most in need. 

Opioids in the News 

GAO: Better Patient Education Key to Safe Disposal of Unused Opioids
On September 10, Patient Engagement HIT reported that patients are still not getting rid of the opioid medications they do not use despite nationwide efforts to do so, which prompted the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to say there needs to be better patient education and motivation. GAO outlined various opioid disposal strategies sponsored by government agencies and found that patients are largely not taking advantage of them. Currently, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) host drug take-back days. DEA-sponsored sites will take back patients’ unused opioid pain killers free of charge. The three agencies host a similar mail-back program that allows patients to mail their unused opioids to the DEA. Despite these options and others that exist for getting rid of unused opioids, the GAO found that few patients take advantage of these services. Instead, anywhere from one-quarter to one-third of patients save their opioids for future use or can’t find their unused opioids. These findings underscore the need for better patient education about not only the risk of opioid diversion and misuse, but the avenues by which patients can safely dispose of unused opioids, the GAO said.

Read more at: https://patientengagementhit.com/news/better-patient-education-key-to-safe-unused-opioid-disposals; https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-19-650

REDCap Tips 

Locked out of REDCap? Forget your password?
For security reasons, REDCap accounts suspend when they have not been logged in for a period of time. The best solution is to stay active and screening patients! However, if your pharmacy needs a password reset or account reactivated, please contact jsteig@qualityhealthnd.org and staff at QHA will work to get your back online.

Available Recordings