Trial Information

Developing a Utah Pharmacotherapy Risk Management System With an Electronic Surveillance Tool (Utah ePRM)

The ePRM project has two objectives:

1. Refine and implement a computerized surveillance and trigger tool to support medication
therapy and risk management services. The ePRM tool will be used to (1) identify
potential drug-therapy problems, which include quality, safety and cost-related
problems; (2) select patients and providers for in-depth clinical reviews and possibly
direct intervention (i.e., letter, phone call, Medication Therapy Management Services
(MTMS), or Academic Detailing); (3) identify potential fraud and diversion of
controlled substances; and (4) track patterns of medication use and evaluate ePRM
performance, identify improvements, and direct policy change.

2. Conduct innovative multi-pronged interventions that are guided by the ePRM trigger
tool. Clinical areas chosen for review include diabetes therapy, hypertension, asthma,
antipsychotic therapy, pain management (opioid narcotics and anticonvulsants) and
anticoagulation/antiplatelet drugs. Interventions in these areas will address potential
under and overuse, or patient safety concerns. Clinical pharmacists and physicians will
implement five types of inter-related interventions: a) provider level reviews, which
includes prescribers' profiling and feedback for outlier prescribers; b) patient level
reviews and letters to prescribers for high-risk patients; c) phone consultation and
Academic Detailing with outlier prescribers; d) MTMS; and e) detecting and pursuing
suspected fraud and abuse cases.