COLUMBIA, S.C. — The Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) and the South Carolina Department of Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Services (DAODAS) launched their new prescription monitoring online dashboard.
As the drug crisis within South Carolina increases, the dashboard will track the number of opioid, stimulant, and benzodiazepine prescriptions being filled within the state and gives real time county and state-level data that allows comparisons over time and scores a number of demographic categories.
"This data is going to help everyone working to address the drug crisis or easily see the patterns and trends related to medications that have the potential for misuse and dependency," said DAODAS Director, Dr. Sara Goldsby.
"This will allow on a statewide basis -- but also by each county -- people to access data on the number of prescriptions, the number of drugs that are entering their community through prescription sources," said Dr. Edward Simmer.
Robbie Robertson is the Lexington/Richland Alcohol and Drug Abuse Council (LRADAC) Communications Director.
"I think anytime you have data you can refine your mission, you can redefine your objectives," Robertson said.
He believes this new resource will help LRADAC's mission of fighting addiction and encouraging recovery in the Midlands.
"For people like LRADAC, it lets us put a magnifying glass on our service area and see what the problem is and see what the trends are. Because if you know what the problem is, we can better address it. We think this is going to be incredibly resourceful for all of us," Robertson said.
The dashboard is equipped with various trendlines and showcases data over the course of a two year period while receiving updates quarterly.
"This data is actionable data, and we know this state and local communities can really use this information as we keep working to prevent the misuse of medications," Dr. Goldsby said.
And while prescribing is often done with well-meaning intentions, this tool, according to Dr. Goldsby, will help correct and address the over-prescribing and misuse of prescription drugs.
"As medical professionals can see how they are prescribing relates to the average of the prescribers around them they tend to make adjustments in their own practice patterns," she said.
DHEC said if you do visit the new dashboard they ask you also fill out a survey to help the creators improve how data is broken down and understood by the public.