Our November meeting of Health TechNet was held on Friday, November 17 at Nelson Mullins’ office in Washington, D.C.
The feature topic was the use of data analysis and knowledge management tools to combat the opioid crisis. Health care providers across the country struggle to fight this growing national public health crisis. Drug overdose is the leading cause of accidental death in the U.S. Opioid addiction is driving this epidemic, with 90 overdose deaths each day. Overdose deaths from prescription opioids have more than quadrupled since 1999, and so have sales of these prescription drugs. As the opioid epidemic escalates, clinicians and policy makers are actively seeking tools and resources to help prevent and detect opioid misuse, abuse, and diversion by their patients. The HealthTech Net meeting examined how potential solutions and ideas are being used on the front lines to address the opioid crisis in the United States.
Our speakers included Stanley Campbell, the CEO of EagleForce Associates and also a physician from QLIK. Both companies utilize data analytics to combat opioid misuse at the pharmacy and provider levels. Also speaking was Dr. Edwin Chapman, Medical Director of a new company in DC, Medical Home Development Group, that seeks to use managed care techniques across provider networks to more effectively treat opioid addiction. Mona Diddiqui, Chief Data Officer of DHHS, also spoke on value of data to the evaluation, investigation and remediation of the opioid issue.