Electronic prescribing from medical software, or “e-prescribing” is not a new concept to the pharmaceutical industry; most U.S. pharmacies and providers have integrated e-prescribing into their practice. According to a report in U.S. Pharmacist, about 91% of community pharmacies and 34% of office-based providers have electronic prescription-routing capabilities.
However, e-prescribing has rapidly evolved over the last decade and will continue to do so to accommodate the growth and complexities of today’s health care systems. In fact, the U.S. e-prescribing market is expected to grow at a CAGR of over 20.68% during the period 2021−2027.
Compared to earlier years, 2021 saw a huge increase in digital health solution investments, and according to Arizton Advisory & Intelligence, the federal government played an instrumental role in the mass adoption of e-prescribing solutions by encouraging research and providing incentives for newly implemented e-prescribing programs.
What is a Telemedicine EHR with E-Prescribing Software?
Hand-writing and faxed prescriptions can be inefficient and introduce medication errors, which can be both costly and dangerous for patients. Mistakes are substantially reduced through advanced technology, which includes e-prescribing from an EHR. But, this concept doesn’t just mean moving from paper to digital. An e-prescribing software brings together different pieces of the patient medical information into one, convenient location.
The shift to e-prescribing from EHR software is particularly important to pharmacies as an emerging digital innovation mitigating several issues associated with hard copy prescriptions, including forgery, fraud, illegible or incomplete scripts leading to inaccurate fills, administrative inefficiencies, and poorly kept hard to find records. Many pharmacists are still relying on handwritten and faxed prescriptions — we live in a digital world and e-prescribing software systems are the new standard as healthcare pushes to improve the safety and reliability of prescriptions.
Unfortunately, and until recently, pharmacies that have adopted e-prescribing have been at the mercy of the doctors that manage them. Pharmacies traditionally have had to rely on someone else to start the patient care process. The lack of control can impact prescription turnaround, accessibility, and medication offerings, which can ultimately impact patient care, leaving the pharmacist with a lost service opportunity.
3 Benefits of a Quality E-Prescribing Software
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Faster prescription turnaround
Non-digital prescriptions create tedious work in keeping and managing records. By utilizing e-prescription software, pharmacists can manage dozens of prescriptions at the same time, which can increase efficiency and ensure patients get quicker access to the medication they need, when they need it.
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Reduces prescription errors
Compared to non-digital prescriptions, e-prescriptions feature safer treatment and dosage, requiring less work on the part of the pharmacist. This can reduce medication errors, incorrect or unavailable drug dosages, inaccurate information, or misinterpretation due to incomplete/unavailable information. According to a study by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), e-prescribing reduces errors by 35%.
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Pharmacist driven care with complete patient history in one place
E-prescription software can help pharmacists track everything about their patient health records, if patients have picked up their refills, if patients need to schedule a prescription renewal, etc. Having all the information in one location means tracking helping people in adhering to their care plans. Pharmacists can follow up with patients who haven’t maintained their prescription refills or renewals and be able to get patients back on track.
How E-Prescribing Software Can Increase Revenue
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Serve and retain more clients with faster turnaround times
When the prescription process chain is long and involves several different steps, pharmacies and clinics lose clients because patients fall off. No one wants a convoluted system when needing medication. The turnaround on appointments with e-prescriptions are much faster, easier, and less costly for patients.
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Reduce avoidable errors
According to Pharmacy Times, medication errors are a leading cause of mortality in the U.S., add economic burden on society by adding to health care costs, and may result in litigation which can be expensive and increase professional liability insurance coverage. Prescription errors are estimated to cost $77 billion per year. E-prescription software systems reduce errors by 35% (NIH), which can improve patient safety and lead to millions in savings.
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Diversify medication offerings
By implementing an e-prescription software, the cost of medications can be reduced for patients. E-prescription software connects can better connect patients and providers to compounding or specialty pharmacies and gives doctors and patients access to far more medication options, which is especially important for unique or unusual diseases.
Where do HealthCare Hubs fit?
HealthCare Hubs allows pharmacists to manage the prescription process from start to finish, which means pharmacies have more control over prescription turnaround times, accessibility, and cost-effective medication offerings.
Connects the industries together
Our platform features an extensive network that connects independent medical doctors, pharmacies, and medical clinics for better, faster care. Pharmacies can plug into those networks to supplement the providers they are already affiliated with, as well as medical specialty clinics to expand their services.
Greater transparency
Our platform is HIPAA compliant and meets all necessary state and federal requirements. It also houses independent medical providers, their availability, their licensing type, and the states in which they are licensed to practice — you no longer need to worry about whether the provider is in good standing or legally authorized to handle your patients’ prescription requests. The software lets you manage your patients' care journey quickly and easily and assures the right care.
Complete patient history at your fingertips
Patient charts are available for both your pharmacy and the provider to collaborate in. Within the patient chart, pharmacists and providers can update medications taken, patient demographics, review previous doctor notes, medical histories, schedule a follow-up appointment at the patient’s convenience, and more. As the patient chart is updated, all parties stay informed in real-time for better care.
More accessible for patients
Electronic storage of prescription records is invaluable, and both pharmacists and patients are able to access them through our easy-to-use web-based software whenever they are needed. Instead of needing to go into a doctor’s office for a prescription, patients and pharmacies can utilize the platform. HealthCare Hubs has an extensive network that can be used to connect patients with providers who have the correct licensing and specialty to prescribe medications they need — all without ever leaving home.
Employees spend less time in follow-up
Our platform is created to house everything in one place — charts, records, appointments, drug history, and notes can all be found in HealthCare Hubs' EHR. Instead of needing to call the doctor to verify information, pharmacies can easily locate everything they need before prescribing medications and submit for insurance coverages immediately.
Gives after-hours capability
HealthCare Hubs operates in a real-time view, allowing pharmacists to manage more of the prescription process, serve clients remotely, and help patients get the medication they need, when they need it.
The benefits of adopting telemedicine e-prescribing software has been shown to generate significant additional revenue for pharmacies and clinics. Revenue growth is expected to continue upward as e-prescription software systems advance and pharmacies and clinics continue to adopt them. The final takeaway here is that quality EHR e-prescribing software systems can boost your business, speed up prescription turnaround, and serve your patients better and faster while remaining compliant with pharmacy and medical practice laws.
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