Wisconsin Enhanced Prescription Drug Monitoring Program Awarded $1.6 million to Combat Opioid Abuse, Expand Access

MADISON, Wis.  –  Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services Secretary Dawn Crim announced today that the Wisconsin Enhanced Prescription Drug Monitoring Program will receive $1,648,500 from a competitive U.S. Department of Justice grant program. The award is part of DOJ’s Harold Rogers Prescription Drug Monitoring Program, which is administered by the Bureau of Justice Assistance.

The Wisconsin Controlled Substances Board and DSPS introduced the award-winning ePDMP in partnership with NIC Wisconsin, a subsidiary of Tyler Technologies, in 2017. This replaced a previous version of the platform that launched in 2013. The ePDMP was designed to be a clinical tool to help inform healthcare providers, including physicians, dentists, advanced practice nurses and others, when they are making decisions about prescribing opioids, benzodiazepines, and other potentially addictive drugs.

This year’s Harold Rogers Prescription Drug Monitoring Program grant will fund enhancements designed to expand adoption of the ePDMP’s direct workflow integrations and to make ePDMP data more accessible within providers’ existing electronic health record systems. The primary focus of the funding is to benefit providers in rural and underserved areas of Wisconsin.

“Since its inception, the ePDMP has been an invaluable tool in the state’s multi-faceted effort to address the opioid epidemic,” Secretary Crim said. “It has already transformed prescribing culture, and it continues to generate important data about prescribing trends in Wisconsin. This additional funding will make it more functional for and more accessible to more providers throughout the state.”

Since the launch of the ePDMP, DSPS, the CSB, and NIC Wisconsin have partnered to continually enhance the ePDMP to provide healthcare providers with simple efficient access to the vital data about controlled substance dispensing is Wisconsin. These enhancements include data analytics that provide insight into a provider’s own prescribing patterns and data-driven alerts about potentially unsafe patient prescription histories, such as overlapping opioids and benzodiazepines and potentially dangerous levels of opioid usage. Additionally, there is an ongoing multiyear project using previously awarded grant funds to overhaul the data capabilities of the ePDMP that is expected to complete in 2023.

“We are excited to see DSPS and the CSB being awarded funding to expand upon the successful ePDMP,” said Nicole Randol, general manager of NIC Wisconsin. “As we look ahead, our partnership with DSPS on this critical tool will continue to focus on satisfying the needs of the healthcare providers across Wisconsin who use the ePDMP.”

About the Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services (DSPS)

In addition to operating the ePDMP and administering the CSB, DSPS issues more than 240 unique licenses, supports dozens of boards and councils, enforces state building codes, and runs the state fire prevention program. A fee-based agency, the DSPS is self-sustaining and receives no general fund tax dollars for its day-to-day operations.

About Tyler Technologies and NIC

Acquired by Tyler Technologies (NYSE: TYL) on April 21, 2021, NIC is a leader in digital government solutions and payments, partnering with government to deliver user-friendly digital services that make it easier and more efficient to interact with government. NIC and Tyler are united in their mission to empower public sector entities to operate more efficiently and connect more transparently with their constituents and with each other. Tyler has more than 27,000 successful installations across more than 11,000 sites, with clients in all 50 states, Canada, the Caribbean, Australia, and other international locations. Tyler has been named to Government Technology’s GovTech 100 list five times and has been recognized three times on Forbes’ “Most Innovative Growth Companies” list. More information about Tyler Technologies, an S&P 500 company headquartered in Plano, Texas, can be found at tylertech.com.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.