Kentucky and Ohio Sharing Prescription Information

by Brenna Angel, Kentucky Public RadioWhat started out as a program to track where patients get their prescription drugs in Kentucky has expanded to Ohio.This week the Kentucky All Schedule Prescription Electronic Reporting system, or KASPER, launched a data exchange with the Ohio Automated Rx Reporting System, or OARRS. So far, 12 Kentucky physicians are testing the program.“The fact that that pilot’s up, running, and we’ve got users sharing data means that we’ve made a huge advance in being able to take this statewide between Ohio and Kentucky and to start bringing other states on board so that we’re all sharing," says KASPER manager Dave Hopkins.Now a doctor or pharmacist in Kentucky can check if their patient has been prescribed drugs in Ohio without logging on to a different network. That should make it easier to drug abusers who go to multiple doctors for medication.Hopkins plans to continue the pilot for about one or two months before expanding it to other KASPER users across the state.Prescription drug abuse is rampant in parts of Kentucky, and many of the drugs are purchased in other states. Hopkins says a meeting is scheduled for next Thursday to discuss possibilities for a single software interface that could be used nationwide.