LOUISVILLE, Ky., Feb. 1, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Appriss Inc., a leading technology provider for risk assessment and analytics in public safety, retail and healthcare, announced that it has signed an agreement with the Massachusetts Department of Public Health to help deter prescription drug abuse in the state. The agreement, involving the adoption of two of Appriss' prescription monitoring solutions, PMP AWARxE and PMP Gateway, is part of the initiative described in Governor Charlie Baker's Opioid Working Group. The partnership, first announced on December 22, 2015, will provide opioid prescription histories in real-time, at the point-of-care. This increased accessibility is expected to increase prescription monitoring data usage to improve patient safety and deter prescription drug abuse and diversion.

Prescription Monitoring Programs (PMPs) are state-run programs that track the distribution of narcotics and other prescriptions for federally controlled substances. Appriss' PMP platform, AWARxE provides access to mandatory pharmacy reporting and offers secure accessibility to data across state lines.

PMP Gateway is a secure integration technology that provides a variety of options for health IT systems to integrate PMP data intoprescriber and pharmacist workflows. Prescribers and pharmacists currently log into separate websites to retrieve a patient's opioid prescriptions and then cross-reference this data with a patient's health information in other systems. The PMP Gateway integration provides instant access to the patient's data within the electronic health records and pharmacy dispensing system.

"The entire northeast of the country has been seeing a significant increase in opioid addiction and opioid overdose related deaths," said Krishnan Sastry, Executive Vice President of Appriss. "Governor Baker has taken a leadership stance to tackle the opioid epidemic head-on and Appriss is honored to partner with Massachusetts to help further his initiatives."

Massachusetts joins 23 other states in adopting an Appriss prescription monitoring platform. The integration agreement for Gateway follows an Ohio statewide agreement announced last month, but is the first of its kind in the northeast United States.

About Appriss

Appriss provides data-driven solutions to fulfill our mission of keeping communities safe and informed. Partnering with public safety, healthcare, and leading private and public companies, Appriss delivers solutions that prevent fraud, mitigate risk, fight crime, ensure compliance, increase public safety and save lives. Appriss' solutions are always backed by excellent customer support with technical agents in the US that are available to help 24x7x365.

For more information, visit www.appriss.com (http://www.appriss.com).