North Carolina has joined the PMP InterConnect compact, an interstate group that fosters prescription drug data sharing across state lines.

With the addition of North Carolina, 46 states now are part of the collaborative. Washington, California, Florida and Nebraska do not currently participate.

Appriss Health started the platform in 2011 in collaboration with the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy and has grown from sharing just a few thousand transactions to more than 15 million today.

[Also: Michigan law requires providers check state's PDMP before prescribing opioids]

Through the secure platform, providers can view multi-state data on patient controlled substance prescribing history. The idea is to give providers the full prescribing history to allow them to make better-informed decisions when prescribing opioids.

The platform is governed by a steering committee, with representatives exclusively from the 46-state PDMP. The committee serves as administrator and ensures proper function of the platform.

[Also: Alliance to press lawmakers to fight opioid abuse with interoperability]

Sharing prescription drug information between providers is thought by many to be crucial to reducing the opioid crisis, as researchers have found PDMPs combat prescription drug misuse and abuse. The White House Opioid Commission has recommended nationwide interoperability for this reason.

"This new data available through the CSRS portal gives clinicians the ability to get additional information on their patients' opioid prescription histories and make more informed decisions before prescribing an opioid," said North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Mandy Cohen, MD, in a statement.

"Policy issues, not technical issues, are preventing the remaining states from sharing PDMP data," she added. "With some policy and regulatory refinement, all states can be sharing data through the national PMP InterConnect platform."

Twitter: @JessieFDavis
Email the writer: jessica.davis@himssmedia.com