Kaiser Permanente of the Mid-Atlantic States Expands Rcopia e-Prescribing Program from DrFirst | DrFirst

ROCKVILLE, MD, July 2, 2004 – DrFirst today announced a significant expansion of its Rcopia e-Prescribing program with Kaiser Permanente in the Northern Virginia area bringing more accurate and convenient prescription services to Kaiser Permanente members and advanced capabilities to staff physicians within the Mid-Atlantic Permanente Medical Group, P.C.

Kaiser Permanente initially installed Rcopia e-Prescribing at its medical center in Woodbridge, Virginia which resulted in improved prescription accuracy and a significant increase in formulary compliance by their physicians. After this successful initial implementation, Kaiser Permanente will deploy Rcopia at eleven medical facilities in Virginia over the next several months. Using exam room computers, the physicians will have access to Rcopia’s prescribing functions, including drug-to-drug and drug-to-allergy interaction checking and Kaiser Permanente’s formulary and drug reference information.

Kaiser Permanente is also planning to offer Rcopia to selected community doctors that belong to their network in the mid-Atlantic region as part of a pilot program. These physicians are not employed by Kaiser Permanente, but treat patients insured by Kaiser Permanente. Kaiser Permanente would purchase initial licenses for Rcopia for approximately 30 network physicians to begin this program.

“At Kaiser Permanente patient safety is a key priority. Using Rcopia at our Woodbridge Medical Center, we’ve improved prescribing accuracy, made the process safer and more convenient for patients, and reduced unnecessary calls between doctors and pharmacists clarifying prescription orders,” said Carol Forster, M.D., Executive Director of pharmacy management for Kaiser Permanente of the Mid-Atlantic States.

“We are pleased to be working with one of the leading providers of patient care in the country to expand the use of e-Prescribing,” said John F. Bartos, Jr., President of DrFirst. “After our successful initial deployment, we believe that the expansion of Rcopia to both employed and network physicians will serve Kaiser Permanente and its members well,” Mr. Bartos added.

About Kaiser Permanente
Kaiser Permanente is America’s leading integrated health care organization. Founded in 1945, it is a not-for-profit, group-practice with headquarters in Oakland, California. Kaiser Permanente serves the health care needs of more than 8.3 million members in 10 states and the District of Columbia. Today, it encompasses Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc., Kaiser Foundation Hospitals and their subsidiaries, and the Permanente Medical Groups. Nationwide, Kaiser Permanente includes about 85,000 technical, administrative and clerical employees and about 9,000 physicians representing all specialties. Kaiser Permanente has already demonstrated leadership in e-health care with its award-winning website, http://www.kaiserpermanente.org.

Kaiser Permanente of the Mid-Atlantic States, Inc. serves over 500,000 members in Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia. The health care organization is comprised of the Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of the Mid-Atlantic States and the Mid-Atlantic Permanente Medical Group, P.C., which features more than 900 physicians in 29 medical facilities who provide or arrange care for patients in the region.

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Amy Goodwin
Director, Media Relations
Kaiser Permanente
Amy.Goodwin@kp.org
Tel: (301) 816-6264
Fax: (301) 816-7232