Utah rolls out updated Controlled Substance Database

Utah rolls out updated Controlled Substance Database

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SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing has released the newest software version of the state’s Controlled Substance Database that records all controlled substances dispensed in the Beehive State.

The database is a resource that assists health care professionals in providing safe and efficient care for their patients' controlled substances. More than $550,000 was invested in the effort to allow greater access to patient information.

“Utah now has the best tools in place to aid health care professionals when making careful prescription decisions,” Francine Giani, executive director of the Utah Department of Commerce, said in a statement.

The Utah Controlled Substance Database Program was created by the Legislature and put into effect on July 1, 1995. It collects data on the dispensing of Schedule II through Schedule V drugs from all retail, institutional and outpatient hospital pharmacies, and in-state and out-of-state mail-order pharmacies.

The data is disseminated to authorized individuals and used to identify potential cases of drug overutilization, misuse and overprescribing of controlled substances. More than 74 million Utah controlled substance records have been entered into the system since Jan. 1, 2002.

Gov. Gary Herbert and the Utah Legislature authorized state funding to upgrade and maintain the database during the 2016 and 2017 legislative sessions.

Thanks to recent legislation introduced by Rep. Brad Daw, R-Orem, Utah patients may now add another person to their medical file to receive prescription alerts when the patient obtains a controlled substance.

“Utah’s Controlled Substance Database has been a pioneer nationwide in the handling of prescription records. Now third-party prescription alerts supply another layer of opioid safety to address this community epidemic,” Daw said in the statement.

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