A University of Florida researcher has been awarded a $1.6 million grant to evaluate a novel software tool developed to inform opioid prescribers of patient risks and therapy benefits.
Abraham Hartzema, Pharm.D., Ph.D., MSPH, FISPE, a professor and eminent scholar emeritus in the department of pharmaceutical outcomes and policy in the UF College of Pharmacy, will serve as principal investigator of the Small Business Innovation Research grant to Safe Med Compliance, Inc. The award is sponsored by the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
The two-year grant will allow Hartzema to validate protocols and the delivery system for the Care Continuity Program, or CCP, a software product of Sure Med Compliance which is a novel, online patient self-assessment used by opioid prescribers. Patients access the software prior to a doctor visit and are required to complete assessments and questions related to opioid use. CCP then generates a report, which is integrated into the patient’s electronic health record. The data is also sent to a dashboard that scores and categorizes the risk and benefit of the patient’s treatment.
Hartzema’s study will validate the protocols and delivery system of the CCP by measuring patient outcomes, prescriber confidence and the completeness of documentation in the patient’s electronic health record in primary care and pain management settings. The study will also examine pre and post implementation of CCP.