Partnering to Reduce Opioid Risk

Over the past two decades, the U.S. opioid crisis has been accelerated in part by the widespread prescribing of opioid medication for pain. This phenomenon contributed to misuse of both prescription and non-prescription opioids.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released Clinical Practice Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Pain in 2016 and revised it in 2022. Yet in many busy practices, prescribers may not have full insight into all the services and medications patients receive, such as:

  • Opioid and concurrent benzodiazepine prescriptions from other providers
  • Emergency department (ED) visits for non-fatal overdoses and other patterns of risk

axial healthcare logoSince 2016, Highmark has partnered with Wayspring’s axialHealthcare to provide assistance to prescribers in safe opioid management. axialHealthcare’s advanced data analytics enables prescribers to identify at-risk members and provides timely, interactive tools for clinical decision-making. This service is called Risk Mitigation.

The interactive tools generate reports on prescribing and allow for voluntary consultation with the Clinical Consult Services (CCS) team of advanced practice providers, clinical pharmacists, nurses, and engagement specialists to discuss optimal evidence-based opioid prescribing.

Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield of Western New York (BCBSWNY) is partnering with axialHealthcare to extend its Risk Mitigation services effective March 1, 2023. This is a voluntary offering that we hope will provide deeper insights into the patterns of care provided to your Highmark BCBSWNY patients receiving opioids.

Provider Tools

Through this partnership, providers will have access to axialHealthcare’s Risk Mitigation Solution. This online platform features a variety of tools for identifying and addressing opioid-related risk in patient populations, including:

  • Analytics highlighting members who fall into certain risk categories, such as patients recommended for a Substance Use Disorder (SUD) evaluation, those receiving opioids from multiple providers, or using benzodiazepine with opioids.
  • Patient-specific snapshots of key clinical information that summarize critical diagnoses and recent prescriptions.
  • Tying risk categories to clinical considerations to help mitigate the risk.
  • An interactive opioid reduction tool to assess patient readiness and motivation while supporting the development of patient-centric reduction plans when beneficial.
  • Insight into areas of patient risk within a set of clinical measures for opioid prescribing.

Direct Provider Support

Each of these resources is supported by axialHealthcare’s CCS team.

The CCS team’s goal is to support you in the treatment of complex patients by applying their clinical expertise, offering detailed patient intelligence, and identifying care coordination opportunities and other relevant evidence-based solutions to support optimal patient health outcomes.

For access support or questions about the program, please contact the axialHealthcare CCS team by calling 412-679-6127 or emailing providersupport@axialHealthcare.com .

 

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