New White Paper Shows the Hidden Complexities of Electronic Prescribing | DrFirst

Rockville, MD— What does the future of electronic prescribing look like? Electronic prescribing is not synonymous with “prescription writing.” The advent of real-time prescribing networks, enables providers to receive electronic prescribing applications that provide sophisticated decision support at the point-of-care as well as true, two-way communications with pharmacies and payers. DrFirst released a white paper that details how the technical infrastructure and the operational underpinnings for true electronic prescribing poses a challenge and a significant expense for developers of electronic practice management (PMS) and medical records (EMR/EHR) systems. This White Paper offers a unique and attractive solution to that challenge and demonstrates how to substantially reduce or eliminate the risk and expense involved for both emerging and established vendors.

“Most EMRs today function in a relatively static office environment and, once installed, have minimal ongoing support requirements that can’t be fulfilled during normal business hours, similar to most software applications,” said James F. Chen, CEO of DrFirst. “This White Paper is intended to provide EMR application developers with an understanding of the complexity inherent in building and operating a competitive electronic prescribing system. It also describes an alternate path to electronic prescribing through integration with an existing electronic prescribing solution, such as Rcopia.”

The paper explains how electronic prescribing involves operating a network on a 24 x 7 basis with numerous entities requiring support, as well as other critical elements required including:

· Connected mobility (prescribing from PDA or smartphone via LAN/WAN)
· Updated, industry standard, data sources for drug information and clinical edits
· Development and operation of a real-time, fail-safe, clinical transaction network.
· Ongoing relationships with payers, service providers, and pharmacy chains
· Support processes that extend beyond application issues to process issues

PMS/EMR application developers have a choice. They can create new business units to support the transaction processing requirements of electronic prescribing, or, they can choose an appropriate partner that can incorporate true electronic prescribing into their application without incurring the associated operational costs.

To request a copy of “The Hidden Complexities of Electronic Prescribing,” email sales@drfirst.com or call 1.888.271.9898 x147.

DrFirst also provides leading edge secure text messaging platforms for physicians, hospitals and EMR/EHR vendors.