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