1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Creating Opportunities that Necessitate New and Enhanced Connections That Improve Opioid Navigation Strategies Act of 2018 or the CONNECTIONS Act . 2. Preventing overdoses of controlled substances Part P of title III of the Public Health Service Act ( 42 U.S.C. 280g et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following new section: 399V–7. Preventing overdoses of controlled substances (a) Evidence-Based prevention grants (1) In general The Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention may— (A) to the extent practicable, carry out any evidence-based prevention activity described in paragraph (2); (B) provide training and technical assistance to States, localities, and Indian tribes for purposes of carrying out any such activity; and (C) award grants to States, localities, and Indian tribes for purposes of carrying out any such activity. (2) Evidence-based prevention activities An evidence-based prevention activity described in this paragraph is any of the following activities: (A) With respect to a State, improving the efficiency and use of the State prescription drug monitoring program by— (i) encouraging all authorized users (as specified by the State) to register with and use the program and making the program easier to use; (ii) enabling such users to access any updates to information collected by the program in as close to real-time as possible; (iii) providing for a mechanism for the program to automatically flag any potential misuse or abuse of controlled substances and any detection of inappropriate prescribing practices relating to such substances; (iv) enhancing interoperability between the program and any electronic health records system, including by integrating the use of electronic health records into the program for purposes of improving clinical decisionmaking