NarxCare
NarxCare is a prescription drug monitoring program (PDMP) run by Appriss.[1] It is widely used across the United States by pharmacies including Rite Aid as well as those at Walmart and Sam’s Club. The NarxCare software allows doctors to view data about a patient, combining data from the prescription registries of various U.S. states to make the registries interoperable nationally. It also uses machine learning to generate an "Overdose Risk Score" that potentially includes EMS and criminal justice data; these scores have been criticized by researchers and patient advocates for the lack of transparency in the process as well as the potential for disparate treatment of women and minority groups.
Function
Advertised as an "analytics tool and care management platform", the NarxCare software allows doctors to view data about a patient including how many pharmacies they have visited and the combinations of medication they are prescribed.[2] It combines data from the prescription registries of various U.S. states, making the registries interoperable nationally.[3][4] It additionally uses machine learning to generate various three-digit "risk scores" and an overall "Overdose Risk Score", collectively referred to as Narx Scores,[5] in a process that potentially includes EMS and criminal justice data[2] as well as court records.[6]
Use
NarxCare is widely used across the United States by pharmacies including Rite Aid as well as those at Walmart and Sam’s Club.[1]
Criticism
Narx Scores have been criticized by researchers and patient advocates for the lack of transparency in the generation process as well as the potential for disparate treatment of women and minority groups.[2] Writing in Duke Law Journal, Jennifer Oliva stated that "black-box algorithms" are used to generate the scores.[5]
References
Citations
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Beaulieu et al. 2021, p. 5.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Szalavitz 2021, p. 41.
- ↑ Szalavitz 2021, p. 40.
- ↑ Romo, Vanessa (2018-05-08). "Walmart Will Implement New Opioid Prescription Limits By End Of Summer" (in en). NPR. https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2018/05/08/609442939/walmart-will-implement-new-opioid-prescription-limits-by-end-of-summer.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Oliva 2020, p. 847.
- ↑ Oliva 2020, p. 848.
Bibliography
- Beaulieu, Tara; Knight, Rod; Nolan, Seonaid; Quick, Oliver; Ti, Lianping (2021-01-02). "Artificial intelligence interventions focused on opioid use disorders: A review of the gray literature" (in en). The American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse 47 (1): 26–42. doi:10.1080/00952990.2020.1817466. ISSN 0095-2990. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00952990.2020.1817466.
- Szalavitz, Maia (October 2021). "The Pain Algorithm". WIRED: 36–47. ISSN 1059-1028. https://www.wired.com/story/opioid-drug-addiction-algorithm-chronic-pain.
- Oliva, Jennifer (2020-01-08). "Prescription-Drug Policing: The Right To Health Information Privacy Pre- and Post-Carpenter". Duke Law Journal 69 (4): 775–853. ISSN 0012-7086. https://scholarship.law.duke.edu/dlj/vol69/iss4/1.
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