The Journal of the Arkansas Medical Society Med Journal May 2020 Final 2 | Page 15

these prevention, care, and treatment efforts in Arkansas are being enhanced with the President’s expressed drive to end this epidemic by 2030. The newly created Substance Misuse and Injury Prevention branch continues to expand its impact by enhancing the Prescription Drug Moni- toring Program (PDMP), substance misuse educa- tion and prevention, and the suicide prevention program in the state. A grant from the CDC will al- low for integration of the PDMP with all electronic health record (EHR) software and pharmacy dis- pensing software in the state over the next three years. Integration of the PDMP will allow prescrib- ers and dispensers to check a patient’s PDMP within their current EHR without having to log into a separate portal, making the utilization of the PDMP easier and quicker for health care pro- viders. Additionally, the grant funds an Academic Detailing project in the state—enabling a team led by clinicians to provide one-on-one, short- length, evidence-based education to providers related to opioids. The intent is to decrease high- risk prescribing of opioids and to increase the use of other pain management strategies.  Child obesity often begins in homes where adults do not follow healthy behaviors. Healthy Active Arkansas (HAA), a public-private partner- ship, promotes healthy weight and an active sustainable lifestyle. This year HAA used funding from the Delta Dental Foundation to install wa- ter-bottle filling stations in schools to encourage students to drink more water. Arkansas was one of the states selected to participate in Harvard T Chen School of Public Health’s CHOICES (Child- hood Obesity Intervention Cost Effectiveness Study) project. Immunization rates have improved over the last few years with innovations in vaccine man- agement and registry systems. The Arkansas rankings for immunization in infants, teens, and adults have all increased. Particular focus has been put on HPV immunization, which prevents cervical and oral cancer with new partnerships developed with dentists and with broader vac- cine coalitions. The department has also begun our online exemption program to improve the education of those who are undecided about im- munization. While ADH launched, ‘‘Be Well Arkansas’’ initiative in November 2018, the year 2019 saw it grow to its full potential by reaching out to Arkansans across the state for tobacco cessation and referral to community hypertension and diabetes resources. This past year also saw the consolidation of 45 cabinet level state agencies to 15, with 23 out of 45 agencies brought under the Arkansas De- partment of Health. This includes the Arkansas State Medical Board and State Nursing, Pharma- cy, and Dental Boards, to name a few. MAKE THE SMART CHOICE. ADVERTISE IN: For more advertising information, contact Penny Henderson at 501.224.8967 or [email protected] Volume 116 • Number 10 MAy 2020 • 255