Rockville, MD – June 7, 2005- DrFirst’s award-winning Rcopia electronic prescription management solution has been selected after extensive evaluation of all SureScripts certified solutions for Phase II of the “Partners in Technology to Improve Patient Safety” Grant. This grant is funded by the Ohio Medical Quality Foundation. The study will connect nine physicians and one nurse practitioner from Providence Medical Group in four physician offices with five local CVS and Walgreens pharmacies in the Dayton area. Phase II will study the impact of electronic prescribing on enhancing patient safety through a decrease in adverse drug events, reducing pharmacy callbacks, streamlining the prescription process, and improved formulary compliance,. The ease of implementation, overall software evaluation, and reducing pharmacy cost trend will also be evaluated. The results of the 14-month study will be derived from reports and feedback from 750 patients, providers, and pharmacy participants.
“We see a great benefit to expanding our long-term commitment to patient safety through studying the effects of electronic prescribing technology on the Dayton, Ohio community with the potential to impact all of Ohio,” says Marc A. Sweeney, R.Ph., Pharm.D., Associate Clinical Professor of Ohio Northern University. “We are pleased to have the opportunity to engage DrFirst in this effort.”
DrFirst Rcopia offers an end-to-end electronic prescribing system that integrates patient eligibility and formulary information with medication history at the point of care. The system allows the physician to transmit the prescription electronically to the pharmacy of the patient’s choosing. This process works for renewals as well as new prescriptions. DrFirst Rcopia is designed to produce legible and error-free prescriptions, reducing the number of phone calls and faxes between the physician’s office and the pharmacy. The system also increases patient safety by incorporating automatic drug-to-drug and drug-to-allergy interaction checking at the time of prescribing.
“We are looking to study all facets of ePrescribing from multiple perspectives in the community setting,” said Martha A. Simpson, DO, MBA Associate Professor of Family Medicine at Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine. “Our goal is to analyze the true value of electronic prescribing and come away with solid data, insight and understanding of what elements are the most important for physicians and pharmacists.”
“The Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine, Ohio Northern University Raabe School of Pharmacy, Ohio Osteopathic Association, and Ohio Pharmacy Association have taken a leadership role in the study of e-Prescribing, and we are pleased to have been selected,” said Cameron C. Deemer, Senior VP and General Manager of DrFirst, Inc. “We feel this academic study will be instrumental in studying the true value of e-prescribing and we applaud these groups for their commitment to promote collaborative relationships between pharmacists and physicians to develop interdisciplinary models for health care delivery.”
About DrFirst
DrFirst, Inc., based in Rockville, MD., is an eHealthcare company best known for its award-winning Rcopia ePrescribing product, the gold standard in the industry. Multiple Electronic Medical Record (EMR) vendors have adopted Rcopia as the engine behind their ePrescribing modules. DrFirst has many successful implementations of regional ePrescribing programs, including the eRx Collaborative in Massachusetts, CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield in the Mid-Atlantic region, Henry Ford Health System in Michigan, and many major IPA’s in NY, Ohio, Washington, North Carolina and Massachusetts. More information about DrFirst can be found at www.drfirst.com.
About Partners in Technology to Improve Patient Safety
This academic study is being conducted by the Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine, Ohio Northern University Raabe School of Pharmacy, Ohio Osteopathic Association, and Ohio Pharmacy Association to assess the impact of electronic prescribing on patient safety and communication between the physician offices and pharmacies. Originally funded in 2002, the project is a three-phase effort to promote collaborative relationships between pharmacists and physicians to develop interdisciplinary models for health care delivery.
About Ohio Medical Quality Foundation
Ohio Medical Quality Foundation was established as a public foundation in 1995 to carry out specific purposes determined by the Ohio General Assembly. QMQF’s mission is to improve the quality of graduate medical education and improving risk management and quality assurances in hospitals and in outpatient settings. Since 1996, The Columbus Foundation has provided program, administrative and financial advice to assist the board in promoting the work of QMQF.