By PHIL CAUTHON
KHI News Service

TOPEKA — The number of patients flagged by K-TRACS, the state’s computerized prescription drug monitoring system, increased more than sixfold after officials began using new software last year, program overseers were told Friday.

In the last half of 2013, warnings were triggered by 584 patients when they tried to fill prescriptions too frequently or otherwise signaled potential for abuse of the drugs. Only 91 patients were flagged in the first half of 2013, when the system was using older, more costly software.

Once a transaction is flagged, program officials alert doctors and pharmacists with a letter. Patients are flagged if their prescriptions exceed a certain number or type in a three-month period. The quarterly thresholds are confidential to make it harder for potential abusers to dodge the system.

Licensed Kansas pharmacies are required by state law to use the K-TRACS system, which includes a statewide database of prescriptions with files specific to each patient. Many hospitals also use it but voluntarily.

K-TRACS Executive Director Marty Singleton told members of the Prescription Monitoring Program Advisory Committee today that it was unclear what led to the spike in flagged patients.

“I really haven’t been able to put my finger on it,” Singleton said. “Personally, for me, when analyzing data — particularly with a new software vendor — I would like to have more than two quarters of data to look for trends.”

Clay Rogers — a data analyst with Appriss, the new software vendor — said it was possible his company’s software did a better job than the old system of identifying variations in personal information supplied by patients. Drug abusing patients often “doc shop” and use variations on their name spelling, address, or birthday in an attempt to evade detection.

In other news from the committee’s quarterly meeting, Singleton said LACIE — one of the two networks that comprise the statewide health information exchange — plans to begin a pilot connection with K-TRACS starting next month. After a test period, the K-TRACS connection would be rolled out to all providers connected to LACIE — about 4,000 providers in the Kansas City metro area, according to LACIE officials.

Access to K-TRACS via the network would mean that connected doctors and pharmacists would not have to go to a separate K-TRACS website to enter and check prescribing data but could find that information via the LACIE network, which is used for communicating patient information.

Officials for the other patient information exchange network — KHIN, which is the primary network for Kansas providers outside the KC area — have said its software vendor currently cannot complete a connection to K-TRACS.

By NICK BUDD
Hays Post

In conjunction with Jana’s Campaign and the advocacy organization Victims2Survivors, the Hays Arts Council will hold an opening reception for the international exhibit “In the Name of Love” from 6 to 8 p.m. Saturday at the art gallery on East 11th Street.

Hem Matsi, co-founder of Victims2Surivior, who is coming to Hays from Namibia, Africa, also will speak at the event. A Fort Hays State University Leadership 310 team also helped with the planning of the exhibit, which will be in display through March 8.

According to Brenda Meder of the Hays Arts Council, the exhibit is designed to raise awareness of the issue of gender-based violence. Meder told the Hays Post that one in three people globally will experience some form of gender-based violence in their lifetime.

“These are strong, powerful impressive pieces of art,” Meder said. “They’re not sensationalized. They’re not gory or anything like that.They are powerful images that allow us to have a little bit more of a visual voice in a way.”

The artwork that will be shown came to Hays from a United Nations event in Geneva, Switzerland. According to Christie Brungardt, co-founder of Jana’s Campaign, this will be the only time the exhibit is shown in the United States.

The opening reception is free and open to the public.

MORLAND — A Rexford man reportedly was injured after his pick up rolled down an embankment 6 miles northeast of Morland just after 5 p.m. Friday.

According to the Kansas Highway Patrol, Ronnie Jo Rietcheck, 64, had stopped to look at deer, backed up to get a better look, then backed off a ditch embankment. His 2006 Dodge pickup rolled once and came to rest on its wheels.