Maine HIE Users Get Single Sign-on Access to State’s Script Registry

Users of Maine’s health information exchange (HIE), HealthInfoNet, can now access the Maine Prescription Monitoring Program (PMP) through the HIE portal. HealthInfoNet worked with the State throughout 2013 to link the two systems, giving clinicians a single sign-on to the PMP while logged into the HIE portal.

The PMP is part of the Office of Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services (SAMHS) in the Maine Department of Health and Human Services. It maintains a database of all prescriptions filled for controlled substances, like narcotics, tranquilizers and stimulants in Maine. The database is free online to healthcare providers and pharmacists to help protect patients against negative health outcomes like drug interactions or overdoses.

HealthInfoNet CEO Dev Culver said that HIE users have asked for this service for several years. “One of the goals of HealthInfoNet is to eliminate the time spent gathering a patient’s medical information. This includes eliminating the number of separate systems needed to gather information it from. We believe this will increase usage of both the PMP and the HIE in Maine.”