Electronic Health Records a Weapon in Opioid Abuse Fight

Hospitals and health-care providers are using their electronic health record systems to detect and prevent opioid abuse among patients.

Health-care systems such as Deaconess Health System and Ochsner Health System are tapping into state-level prescription drug monitoring programs to give physicians real-time data on a patient’s prescription history and limit opioid prescriptions.

The expanded data pool can help health-care providers track prescriptions when treating patients and prevent opioids from getting into the hands of addicts or otherwise being diverted for illegal purposes.

More than 42,000 individuals died due to an opioid overdose in 2016, and 40 percent of the deaths ...