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January 25, 2010

ifroehlich

Maximize Your E-Prescribing Benefits – E-Prescribing Best Practices From DrFirst

checklist

  1. Evaluate your practice, and assess readiness for e-prescribing before you begin.
  2. Set objectives and get your entire office on board! What do you hope to accomplish from adopting e-prescribing? Make this clear to all members of your practice to build trust and confidence.
  3. Speak with friends and colleagues when evaluating vendors to get a sense of real-world workflows and benefits.
  4. Select a vendor that can integrate patient demographics with your current Practice Management or Billing System to avoid double-entry.
  5. Your vendor should provide the full range of e-prescribing functionalities
    1. Medication History
    2. Formulary Information
    3. Various Drug Interactions
    4. Renewal and Refill abilities
  6. Choose a practice leader to champion the adoption of e-prescribing and training of staff. This will alleviate pressure from the doctor, and will increase workflow benefits for everyone in the practice.
  7. Identify staff roles, and run through workflow for each position.
  8. Maintain a working relationship with your vendor by reporting problems or technical issues as they arise. On this note, it is important to choose a vendor with outstanding customer support.
  9. Encourage colleagues and independent pharmacies in your area to become connected. As the community builds, the more information will be available to all parties involved.
  10. Remember your patients! This will be new to your patients as well as to your office staff. Make sure that they are informed and prepared for the change. Have them bring in their preferred pharmacy information and instruct them to call the pharmacy for refills and renewals instead of your office.

About ifroehlich

Ms. Froehlich has been with DrFirst since its inception in 2000. In her role as Director of Marketing, she oversees the planning, directing, and coordinating all marketing and public relations efforts at DrFirst. Ms. Froehlich has a B.S. in Communications from the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana.