Franklin Community Health Network Chooses DrFirst Rcopia E-Prescribing to Improve Access to Prescription Medications by the Uninsured and Underinsured | DrFirst

Rockville, MD – October 23, 2006 – DrFirst is pleased to announce that Franklin Community Health
Network (FCHN) has chosen Rcopia e-prescribing for a community-wide patient safety initiative in Greater Franklin County Maine. The Franklin Health Access-Rx project is made possible by a $1 million grant awarded to Franklin Community Health Network by the Healthy Communities Access Program (HCAP) through the Health Resources and Service Administration in 2005 to improve access to prescription medications by the uninsured and underinsured.

This announcement comes after the first successful implementation of the system at Wilson Stream Family Practice.  Electronic prescribing is part of FCHN’s community-wide effort to improve access to medications by the uninsured and underinsured, to increase patient safety, decrease medication errors, and increase the number of patient’s who fill their prescriptions and take their medications according to their doctor’s instructions. This program will also greatly enhance productivity and efficiency in both doctor’s offices and pharmacies. For example, previously, the process of renewing a prescription required several phone calls between the patient, the doctor’s office, and the pharmacy. With this new communication technology, that process can take place with a click of the mouse. Also, the providers will now have a more complete picture of a patient medication history for more accurate prescribing and avoidance of adverse drug/drug reactions.

“We are grateful to Wilson Stream Family Practice for enthusiastically embracing this important project and modeling the benefits of this innovative technology for their patients and colleagues,” said Leah Binder, Vice President for Franklin Community Health Network. She added that though Wilson Stream Family Practice is the first private practice to “go live” with electronic prescribing, the Network is in the process of phasing in all of Franklin Memorial Hospital sponsored practices and the four local HealthReach Community Health Centers.

The prescriptions will be sent directly through Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) to one of eight local participating pharmacies in the region: Hannaford in Jay and Farmington, Howard’s Rexall, Rite Aid in Farmington and Livermore Falls, Wal-Mart, Rangeley Pharmacy and Riddle’s, and can also be sent to mail order pharmacies as well. Pharmacies and mail order will receive the electronic prescription in their IT systems and use that information to prepare the medication for the patients.

DrFirst’s Rcopia is an end-to-end electronic prescribing system that manages the prescription writing process electronically by connecting physicians to critical patient information and key health care stakeholders at the point of prescribing. Rcopia delivers a patient’s insurance information, medication history, allergies and pharmacy preferences to physicians at the point of care. In addition to these capabilities, Rcopia was chosen for its ability to share data between physicians in order to improve continuity of care along with its ability to tightly interface with other systems such as their electronic medical record (EMR) and practice management systems (PMS).

“We know that prescription management can be complicated and time-consuming for the physician and the patient. Electronic prescribing significantly simplifies the process and lets doctors check for adverse drug interactions or allergies at the point of prescribing, which improves patient safety and enhances efficiency. It also prompts consideration of generic drugs where appropriate, which will ultimately lower health care costs,” said G. Cameron Deemer, Sr. VP of DrFirst. “We applaud Franklin Community Health Network for recognizing the value and power of electronic prescribing and for their commitment to ensure that physicians realize the many benefits that our system brings to the health care community.”

About Franklin Community Health Network
Franklin Community Health Network is an independent community health care network that includes Franklin Memorial Hospital, Pine Tree Medical Associates, Evergreen Behavioral Services, and the Healthy Community Coalition. FCHN has been the recipient of numerous national awards for innovation, high quality care, and partnering with the community and other local organizations to improve health. For more information about Franklin Health Access-Rx, please contact Missy Danforth, Special Projects Manager at 779-3510.