The Texas State Board of Pharmacy is pleased to announce an enhancement to the Prescription Monitoring Program (PMP).

On July 17, 2019, all approved PMP users will have access to an advanced analytics and patient support tool called NarxCare. In addition to the existing PMP functionality, NarxCare will aggregate and analyze prescription information from providers and pharmacies and present visual, interactive information, as well as advanced analytic insights, machine learning risk scores and more to help physicians, pharmacists and care teams to provide better patient safety and outcomes up front, for every patient, every time. NarxCare also provides tools and resources that support patients’ needs and connects them to treatment, when appropriate.

With this enhancement, healthcare providers will have access to all features and functions of NarxCare with a consistent look and feel for users who access the solution through the PMP web portal. It also enables delivery of NarxCare within Electronic Health Records (EHR) and Pharmacy Management Systems for those prescribers and dispensers in Texas who choose to access NarxCare through integration within their healthcare IT system via Appriss Health’s PMP Gateway solution.

Instructional videos on how to navigate NarxCare and how to interpret the NarxCare score are available for viewing.

More Information About Statewide Integration

The Texas State Board of Pharmacy has partnered with Appriss Health to provide this integration option to all Texas Healthcare providers utilizing the service called PMP Gateway. PMP Gateway is a multi-state query system that provides access to a majority of state PMPs. PMP Gateway facilitates communication, information transfer, integration, and support for the state approval process, and the EHR and Pharmacy Management System vendor development process.

Integrating TX PMP AWARxE data within an EHR and/or a Pharmacy Management System provides a streamlined clinical workflow for providers. The integration eliminates the need for providers to have to log in separately to the PMP. Instead, the EHR or Pharmacy Management System automatically initiates a patient query and returns the patient's controlled substance prescription record directly within the provider's EHR or Pharmacy Management System.

On June 17, CMS issued a proposed rule   that would update the Part D e-prescribing program by adopting standards that ensure secure transmissions and expedite prior authorizations.

“Improving patients’ access to prescription drugs is a top priority for CMS,” said CMS Administrator Seema Verma. “This proposed rule would reduce the time it takes for a patient to receive needed medications and ease the prescriber burden by giving clinicians the flexibility and choice to complete prior authorization transactions electronically.”

Under the proposed change, clinicians would be able to choose to complete prior authorizations online, reducing burden for providers through a more streamlined process for performing prior authorization for Part D prescriptions. Clinicians who select the electronic option will typically be able to satisfy the terms of a prior authorization in real time and before a prescription is transmitted to a pharmacy, so patients do not arrive at a pharmacy counter to find that their prescription cannot be filled.

The proposed rule would implement new prior authorization transaction standards for the Part D e-Prescribing program as required by the Substance Use Disorder Prevention that Promotes Opioid Recovery and Treatment (SUPPORT) for Patients and Communities Act. The proposed standards would begin in January 2021.