PHARMACY BEST PRACTICES

The following best practices have been developed to assist pharmacists with implementing K-TRACS use effectively in their pharmacies.

Along with best practices, pharmacists and their delegates should also be familiar with appropriate use guidelines to ensure K-TRACS patient data remains confidential and is used only in the pharmaceutical care of a patient.

BEST PRACTICES FOR K-TRACS USE

HOW TO ACCESS K-TRACS
WHEN TO CONSULT K-TRACS
  • Before dispensing controlled substances to new patients and as a new therapy for existing patients.
  • Prior to dispensing controlled substances for patients requesting early refills.
  • Before dispensing controlled substances when prescription quantities, prescriber tendencies, payment method or patient behavior raises a red flag.
  • For patients regularly receiving controlled substances from multiple prescribers, emergency rooms or urgent care centers.
  • At least annually for all patients continuing therapy with controlled substances to avoid overlooking concerns among familiar patients.
HOW TO USE K-TRACS DATA
  • Coordinate care with the patient's prescribers when overlapping or duplicative medications are present.
  • Identify and refer patients to treatment who might otherwise go untreated for a substance use disorder.
  • Examine medication use and engage in meaningful patient education around the safe use of prescription drugs and the risks of substance use disorders.
  • Engage prescribers about potential inappropriate prescribing, including dosing, frequency and MME levels.
  • Discuss naloxone with patients who meet clinical indicators for dispensing according to statewide protocol.
  • Decide whether to dispense controlled substances for the patient after reviewing all available data.

PUT THE BEST PRACTICES TO USE

Download a sample practice policy and sample clinical workflow to consider how to implement K-TRACS best practices into your retail pharmacy.

DOWNLOAD EXAMPLES

BEST PRACTICES FOR REPORTING DATA TO K-TRACS

Accurate pharmacy data entry is a critical component of the data quality in K-TRACS. Read best practices for submitting data to K-TRACS based on an internal review of data quality and comparing a random sample of original prescriptions to submitted data.

READ BEST PRACTICES