Information on E-Prescribing – Read Up

Sure Scripts has a wealth of information available and I have summarized a portion of some of the important facts here. You can also usethe interactive map found here to see which pharmacies participate in your zip code or state area. Most of the big chains have been on the list for quite a while.

To find out which EHR/EMR vendors are certified and which products they offer, you can link here to find out more. If you are looking for electronic medical records, now might be a good time to give it some serious thought as well. If you are not ready and want a no cost free solution you can use the link in this page to the free NEPSI solution whereby you can enroll and use a free certified e-prescribing solution. There is a permanent link on this site under physician’s resources to find the web site.

Also included on the site is a section relative to Emergency RX History, whereby victims of disasters can be connected to their medications, such as what happened with hurricane Katrina. One other good reason to think about e-prescribing to benefit both the physician and the patient.

Also as mentioned previously Medicare will be paying a 2% bonus on claims for physicians that are using e-prescribing. I just sure wish the DEA would get their act together so we can be done with the 4 part paper scripts, this would certainly make much more sense in the ER room and streamline getting medications to patients, as a data trail is much more detailed and easier to trace than paper by all means.

One more benefit of the free NEPSI and other providers, it can be data dumped right in to a patient’s Personal Health Record, so credible information can be shared by the patient with any physician, hospital or other clinical institution needed. Just think you have a trip to the emergency room and all your medications are easily shared.

A nice Kiosk in the lobby of a hospital ER room would be one welcome addition to facilitate the process to get the information to the ER physician on duty before you are called to the examining room, much less shooting from the hip and the MD on duty would be happy to have it available by all means, but it starts with the primary care physician making this information for a personal health records available to the patient, so anytime you start with e-prescribing you are benefiting more than just yourself, it’s everyone involved. BD

Federal Policy

Starting January 1, 2009, all computer-generated prescriptions covered by the Medicare Part D program must be transmitted electronically and not via fax.
In July of 2006, the Institute of Medicine recommended that all prescriptions be written electronically by 2010.
In December of 2007, U.S. Senator John Kerry joined with former Speaker Newt Gingrich and a number of Senate colleagues to announce the introduction of the Medicare Electronic Medication and Safety Protection Act (“E-MEDS”). The E-MEDS bill proposes to offer physicians reimbursements for investing in e-prescribing technology as well as incentive payments each time a prescription is transmitted electronically and the claim is submitted through Medicare.
In early December 2007, the Senate Judiciary Committee held hearings on the Drug Enforcement Agency’s policy prohibiting e-prescribing of controlled substances. This policy requires physician practices to maintain two separate processes for prescribing: one that is paper-based for controlled substances; and another that is electronically based for all other medications. In the view of many physicians and pharmacists, the administrative burden of maintaining two separate processes is a significant barrier to adoption and use of e-prescribing. If the DEA were to permit e-prescribing of controlled substances, it would represent another potential boost to e-prescribing adoption and use.
On June 27, 2008, the DEA proposed regulations that would pro vide physicians and other authorized prescribers with the option of issuing electronic prescriptions for controlled substances. These regulations would also permit pharmacies to receive, dispense, and archive these electronic prescriptions. The agency is seeking public comment on the proposed regulations through September 25, 2008.

Emergency Rx History is a new initiative led by the nation's pharmacies that will ultimately provide individuals who have been displaced by natural disasters or other kinds of emergencies with faster, safer access to life-saving prescription medications. Based on learnings from Hurricane Katrina, the new initiative uses technology that would allow licensed prescribers and pharmacists anywhere in the country to securely access an information service containing the prescription history, or "Rx History," of a patient from the affected area. In the midst of an emergency, Rx History reduces the risk of medication errors by making critical information available to licensed caregivers when and where they are treating patients.

How will physicians and pharmacists know when the emergency Rx history is available and that the ICER.org portal has been activated?

A general announcement will be made through the media immediately following the activation of the Emergency Rx History service and www.ICERx.org portal. In addition:

For physicians using certified software: SureScripts will issue a communication to physicians through their certified software vendors.

For physicians without certified software: The American Medical Association will communicate the activation of the Emergency Rx History service and www.ICERx.org portal to their membership.

For independent pharmacists: The National Community Pharmacists Association will communicate the activation of the Emergency Rx History service and www.ICERx.org portal to their membership.

For chain pharmacists: SureScripts will communicate the activation of the Emergency Rx History service and www.ICERx.org portal to lead executive and operational contacts at the chain pharmacies.

http://www.surescripts.com/Surescripts/e-prescribing-facts.aspx#support