CAMP HILL, Pa.  – Rite Aid  announced on Wednesday a partnership with Appriss Health, provider of the most comprehensive analytics platform for opioid stewardship and substance use disorder (SUD) in the U.S., to deploy NarxCare into clinical workflow.  Rite Aid has effectively implemented NarxCare in 12 states, including all of its Pennsylvania locations.

Jocelyn Konrad

NarxCare utilizes, analyzes, and presents information from State Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs (PDMP) to enable pharmacists to more efficiently and effectively identify and manage patients at risk for Controlled Substance Misuse and Abuse. NarxCare equips pharmacists with advanced analytics, tools, technology, and invaluable insights that are presented and accessed directly within Rite Aid’s pharmacy management system. NarxCare also provides machine learning and artificial intelligence-based patient risk analysis in a visually interactive format to support pharmacists’ dispensing decisions and state law compliance.

“NarxCare is another efficient and effective solution to help our pharmacists make responsible dispensing decisions, while mitigating possible controlled substance misuse or abuse,” said Jocelyn Konrad, executive vice president, pharmacy and retail operations, Rite Aid. “The integration of NarxCare and PDMP information into our pharmacist’s workflow empowers them to focus more on building relationships with patients and improving health and wellness across the communities they serve.”

“At Rite Aid, patient safety and compliance are important priorities,” said Rob Cohen, president, Appriss Health. “We applaud Rite Aid’s efforts to rapidly deploy technologies to help reduce potential customer risk by leveraging the state PDMPs, utilizing an advanced analytics platform, and integrating these solutions seamlessly into their pharmacists’ daily workflow.”

While pharmacists have access to PDMP information, it can be difficult to navigate and analyze. With NarxCare in place, pharmacists are able to identify potential problems up front, in real-time, for every customer, every time they consider a controlled substance dispensation. Pharmacists also have the support they need to better engage with their customers and determine the best course of action for them, while fulfilling their corresponding responsibility to ensure all controlled substances are filled for a legitimate medical purpose pursuant to a valid prescription within the scope of the prescriber’s practice.