Pharmacy service provider Advanced Rx announced an alliance with pain-management digital health company Sure Med Compliance to give Advanced Rx sole entry to Sure Med Compliance's Perspectives in Care (PiC) to ensure proper risk and benefit analysis has been determined and recorded when a controlled substance is dispensed.

PiC delivers medicolegal understanding at the point of care and educates providers on new pain therapies. It also helps life sciences companies bring novel products to market. 

The alliance aims to alleviate the human and economic price tag linked to improper prescribing and dispensing of controlled substances, most notably opioids.

Sure Med Compliance will also join forces with Advanced Rx on other commercial support enterprises designed to increase market share within their network of healthcare providers.

"[Sure Med Compliance's] innovative solutions align perfectly with our commitment to optimize patient care. By working together, we can empower healthcare providers with the tools and resources they need to deliver exceptional care, while prioritizing patient safety. This collaboration strengthens our collective efforts to combat the opioid crisis and ensure a more responsible approach to pain management," Jeff Azevado, chief executive officer of Advanced Rx, said in a statement.

Sure Med says that hindered access to appropriate pain care is the driving force behind the current phase of the opioid epidemic.

"Ensuring all members of a patient's care team have the data they need to make a safe and appropriate prescribing and dispensing decision can dramatically improve outcomes," John Bowman, chief executive officer of Sure Med Compliance, said in a statement.

"Partnering with the nation's leading pharmacy service provider will allow us to expand our reach and ultimately save lives. We are grateful for the opportunity to partner with Advanced Rx and commend them for their dedication to solving this devastating health crisis."

Bowman told MobiHealthNews that due to recent litigation, pharmacists are now required to provide a lot of additional information before dispensing any controlled substances, and what Sure Med Compliance is doing is automating most of that process. 

THE LARGER TREND

In January, Sure Med Compliance partnered with Curonix, a medical technology company, for large-scale, long-term PNS clinical data collection using Sure Med’s Perspectives in Care digital health platform.

Sure Med CEO John Bowman told MobiHealthNews exclusively that Sure Med will soon announce a partnership with Mako Medical Laboratories to deliver point-of-care guidance on which patients are appropriate for a urine drug test.

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