The State of Ohio Board of Pharmacy’s has been updated (effective November 2015) to reflect changes in state law pertaining to including Ohio Automated Rx Reporting System (OARRS) reports in the patient medical record.
Historically physicians were advised that it was illegal to include the OARRS report in the patient record and that instead it should just be documented in the record that OARRS had been checked and what, if anything, had been discovered. However, Ohio law changed recently and effective March 20, 2015, Ohio law permits a prescriber or pharmacist to include an OARRS report as part of the patient’s medical record. Once included in the chart, the report is deemed part of the medical record subject to disclosure on the same terms and conditions as listed in section 3701.74 of the Ohio Revised Code.
The State Medical Board of Ohio reminds physicians that patients can be shown their OARRS report during a patient encounter/discussion but that the physician is not allowed to give the patient a copy of the OARRS report. If the patient wants a copy of their OARRS report, they have to personally request it through OARRS following the procedure listed below.
View the . The question/answer that addresses inclusion of the OARRS report in the patient record is Question 20.
Below is additional information copied from the :
Who can I share OARRS information with?
The OARRS report itself is for your use in treating the patient or conducting a law enforcement investigation. The report should not be provided to anyone outside of your office/pharmacy or to anyone not directly involved in your investigation. However, information found on the report can be discussed with anyone (including the patient) within the bounds of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and other privacy laws.
Can I keep a copy of the OARRS reports I run (in the patient’s file or otherwise)?
Yes. It is also recommended that you discuss any plans to keep copies of OARRS reports with your legal advisor to ensure that your plans meet any other requirements not directly related to OARRS.
How can an individual get a copy of their own OARRS report?
An individual may request their own OARRS report by completing an application, having it notarized, and presenting the application in person at the State of Ohio Pharmacy Board’s office in Columbus, OH. The report will be processed as they wait. We will not mail a report, nor can anyone else pick up a report on behalf of an individual. Be sure to call the office before coming in to be sure an OARRS pharmacist is available to process the request.
If I am going to be judged in this report,i feel I should have access to it as well as a way to improve it and dispute it
My physician presented me with a form to sign that said I had been made aware of the report, it had been discussed with me and all my questions had been answered. Yet he only quoted a score and not the source where it came from. When I asked detailed questions about it, he refused to discuss any aspect of it. When I asked to see the report, he refused to show it to me. He then insisted I come in twice a month because the score was elevated, no problem there, but I had to get a nurse practitioner to show me the report and she said, “I’m not allowed to do this so be quick”. Later I asked the doctor if he believed I was compliant with my treatment and medication use, he said yes. I asked, do you personally believe I am at risk, he said no. So the basis for his current treatment plan is centered on a report score he won’t discuss or show me. That’s nuts, it’s part of my medical record but I’m not allowed access to it nor can I ask questions. It’s like being told your lab work is abnormal but we can’t tell you exactly what is abnormal about it, and by the way, here is how we will treat it but we can’t tell you why.
My score is high because the first clinic I went to had six prescribers, I don’t get to choose who see’s me or writes my scripts and when one left and was replaced, it added another prescriber to the report and the score went up. Then the first clinic closed, went out of business, so I had to find another, there are four prescribers there, again I have no control over who I see or who writes the script. When I went on Medicare, I had to change pharmacies or pay out of network prices, so the score went up again.
My current doctor is simply scared out of his wits, he doesn’t know how to respond to this report so he overreacts due to liability concerns. The algorithm in the report needs to reflect real world events for which a patient has no control over, so as not to over inflate the score and the doctors need training on how to exercise balanced professional judgement while following the mandates for using the report.
Personally I have no problems with the concept, but I do believe the scoring process needs to be reviewed by a peer group of healthcare professional which incorporates patient advocates.
I couldn’t have said it better my self, I am brand specific on one of my medication, couldn’t tell u why or what make this brand better then the other. Unfortunately not every pharmacy carries the brand and medication I need im stuck with a few and far between list of places to go, and when I try and fill at a pharmacy that starts the process but then concludes that they don’t have it or won’t fill it due to the fact on me being pregnant or not, which is crazy! If I have a written prescription with my name from my physician then they should fill it, the pharmacy isn’t the dr so how can they determine treatment plans and have input on medications and how to dispense then. Every time I fill and the pharmacy turns me away or for what ever reason they don’t have the brand I have to take that makes my score go up, it makes it look like I’m pharmacy shopping and that goes along with dr shopping , there is no set guild lines to fallow everything is so hush hush except for the reports giving by the dr and pharms so that’s who’s to blame if they don’t want the score elevating and which in turns causes unnecessary commotion , then they should be smarter about what is concluded in the reports, sometimes less is more ….. In the over all picture!
I think it is totally unfair that a person can’t get a copy of their own OARRS report without driving hours to come down to Columbus to get it in person. Why dont precribers or pharmacists have to go down in person to obtain a report on a patient. And yes like a person who commented previously I had a dentist after a major dental surgery almost not prescribe to me because he told me that I had too many prescribers in a 3 month period. This is because I had a major shoulder reconstruction and there was an ED physician who prescribed, then the ortho surgeon and his nurse practitioners and PA’s as this is a huge ortho practice. I do not Dr shop nor do I ever use narcotics unless I have surgery or in this case dental surgery. But this dentist says it shows on my OARRS report. What it should show is that all the prescriptions were from the same ortho practice. And I cant see my own report without heading down to Columbus which would mean missing work, etc. This should be illegal.