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West Virginia Offering Potency Calculator for Opioid Use
By: Associated Press
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CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) – West Virginia prescribers and pharmacists have a new tool to track how potent a patient’s combination of prescriptions is.
Attorney General Patrick Morrisey and the state Board of Pharmacy announced the state’s launch of the morphine equivalency calculator in an effort to address the state’s opioid abuse problem.
The calculator analyzes the dosages of opioids prescribed to a patient and translates them into a standard measure of potency, using morphine milligrams as the baseline. It cuts out the step where doctors and pharmacists need to do the math manually.
Morrisey said his office has put $40,000 from its consumer protection fund toward the project. The Board of Pharmacy will cover ongoing costs.