Meditech has announced that it will be adding an opioid stewardship toolkit to Meditech Expanse, the company’s web-based electronic health record (EHR).

Research firm KLAS found that many healthcare providers are in search to EHRs for help with the opioid epidemic. It may be with new clinical decisions support features or connections to state prescription drug monitoring programs. Some of them are customizing their EHR for similar purposes.

Meditech’s toolkit is aligned with 12 chronic pain management recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). It includes in-workflow access to state-regulated prescription drug monitoring programs (PDMPs), access to an electronic prescribing for controlled substances (EPCS) solution and an embedded opioid risk tool (ORT).

Meditech shared that the toolkit will support healthcare organizations to identify high-risk patients, reduce opioid-related harm and realize safer opioid prescribing. This toolkit consists of evidence-and experience-based tools and clinical decision support interventions.

Meditech said the toolkit will support healthcare organizations to identify high-risk patients, realize safer opioid prescribing, and reduce opioid-related harm. Meditech’s announcement comes at a time when Bipartisan Policy Center aims at better integration of clinical, behavioral health data in EHRs in order to prevent suicides and quell the opioid crisis.