Choosing an Electronic Prescribing Application that is Right for Your Practice

Over 95% of the nations’ pharmacies are enabled for electronic prescribing. By connecting your practice to your local pharmacies, you can experience a dramatic reduction in phone calls and faxes to authorize refi lls and clarify prescription information.

To get started, all you need is Internet access (preferably high-speed) and electronic prescribing software that is certifi ed to connect to the Pharmacy Health Information Exchange™, operated by SureScripts®, which facilitates the secure transmission of prescription information between physicians and pharmacists, and provides access to life-saving information about patients during emergencies or routine care.

There are many solutions to choose from and evaluating them may seem like a daunting process. The fi rst question you need to ask is would your practice be better suited for standalone electronic prescribing software or an electronic medical record system? A standalone electronic prescribing solution will allow your practice to automate the refi ll authorization process, send new prescriptions to your local pharmacies, and does not require a substantial upfront investment. By comparison, an Electronic Medical Record system includes electronic prescribing as part of a suite of functionalities will allow you to automate your entire practice and eliminate chart pulls, but may require a bigger initial investment and more dramatic change in office workflow.

Once you have decided on the type of solution for your practice, you will want to start contacting solution providers to fi nd out more about their specifi c products. The following scorecard will help you compare and contrast the features of diff erent solutions.