Marshall Health News
Marshall Health announces new joint venture
3/11/2019
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. -- Marshall Health has entered into a joint venture with Mountain Health Network and HealthTrackRx™ to offer clinical and laboratory services to help healthcare providers identify and prevent opioid and controlled substance misuse. The joint venture will create a new organization focused on tackling the ongoing opioid epidemic in West Virginia and the surrounding regions.
Marshall Health and the new joint venture are committed to providing services that support safe medication prescribing and help to identify patients at risk of substance misuse for referral to further treatment. The joint venture will include a new laboratory located at 2561 3rd Avenue in Huntington that will provide drug testing services for physicians and hospitals and support HealthTrackRx's GuideMed® clinical solution. GuideMed enables physicians and hospitals to provide new resources for safe prescribing and monitoring medication use in people being treated with opioids and other controlled substances. The program has been used by more than 30,000 people and initial results have shown improved patient compliance and medication use.
"We are eager to bring these services to our region and believe they will be vital in providing support to those recovering from substance use disorder," said Michael Mullins, President and CEO of Mountain Health Network. "The GuideMed program will provide a framework to assist in return-to-work programs and assure employers in hiring recovery patients. It also will assist physicians with safely prescribing and monitoring medications for those requiring treatment for pain management."
The GuideMed program and its patent pending technology can help providers meet new legislative requirements for prescribing opioids. It provides customized patient reports to physicians, compiles data on risk and compliance, allows for centralization of patient education, and testing. The service will allow physicians to delegate the monitoring activities and reporting requirements to the joint venture, to help relieve the burden on them and their staff.
"Research and preliminary data from our program show that comprehensive monitoring yields greater success for our patients to achieve long-term recovery—that's the most important part," said Beth L. Hammers, chief executive officer of Marshall Health. "This new service is a means to that end, taking the burden of continuous monitoring off the physicians and their staff while still allowing them to chart progress and make adjustments throughout the process."
"GuideMed originated from the goal of supporting physicians in monitoring their patients and properly prescribing pain medications. Our objective is to provide a turnkey program that helps ensure safe prescribing, while also supporting improved pain treatment outcomes," said Dr. Doug Brenner, President and CEO of HealthTrackRx.
Visit www.guidemed.com for additional information.
About HealthTrackRx
HealthTrackRx® is an integrated clinical solutions company that helps clinicians with appropriate medication prescribing and monitoring. The company provides cost-effective programs, testing and data analytics to support appropriate opioid and antibiotic stewardship. For more information visit www.healthtrackrx.com.
About Mountain Health
Mountain Health Network, Inc., is a West Virginia-based not-for-profit health delivery system comprised of Cabell Huntington Hospital, a 303-bed teaching hospital for Marshall University Schools of Medicine, Pharmacy and Nursing; St. Mary's Medical Center, a 393-bed teaching hospital which operates St. Mary's Schools of Nursing, Respiratory Care and Medical Imaging; Hoops Family Children's Hospital, a 72-bed pediatric specialty hospital within Cabell Huntington Hospital; and a management agreement with Pleasant Valley Hospital, a 201-bed facility with 101 licensed acute beds and 100 long term care beds. Mountain Health is committed to improving the health and well-being of over one million children and adults in 23 counties in West Virginia, southern Ohio and eastern Kentucky through understanding, respecting and meeting their needs.
About Marshall Health
Marshall Health is the faculty practice plan of the Marshall University Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine, making it the region's only academic health system. With more than 300 physicians, 70 areas of primary and advanced care and 40 outpatient clinic locations, Marshall Health is also the largest, most comprehensive health care provider in the tri-state region. For more information, please visit www.marshallhealth.org.
Media Relations Contact
Michele McKnight
Assistant Director of External Affairs
304-691-1713
mcknigh4@marshall.edu
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