A new system aims to reduce prescription abuse and improve patient safety: update from the Washington State Department of Health.

The Washington State Prescription Monitoring Program has collected more than 3.1 million records for controlled substance prescriptions across the state. And now prescribers have access to this information.

“Keeping track of people’s medications improves patient safety and care,” says Secretary of Health Mary Selecky. “The system is an effective tool for prescribers that also protects patients.”

Last month practitioners and pharmacists started creating accounts to track patient prescription information. Since then, the most dispensed drug was Hydrocodone/Acetaminophen, the generic form of Vicodin. It accounts for more than 800,000 prescriptions and represents more than 44 million pills.

Practitioners can register for an account online (www.wapmp.org). Once registration is approved they can request and review patient information. Prescribers and pharmacists can use this data to intervene with patients earlier. They can also identify dangerous drug interactions, watch for misuse, and recognize under-managed pain or the need for substance abuse treatment.

The Department of Health already provides access to this system to our agency’s health professional licensing investigators, the Health Care Authority, the Department of Labor & Industries, and the Department of Corrections.

More information on the program, also known as Prescription Review, is available online (www.doh.wa.gov/hsqa/PMP/public.htm).