SureScripts and Improving the Prescribing Process

1
SureScripts and Improving the Prescribing Process

• Mary Martin, RN MS
• Senior Director, Alliances

2
Key Topics

• Overview of electronic prescribing
• SureScripts background and role
• What is electronic prescribing
• Progress to date
• Illinois Landscape
• SureScripts adoption and utilization programs
• Community Based Medication History

3
SureScripts was formed to improve the prescribing
process in ways that serve the collective
interests of patients, physicians and pharmacists

• Incorporated in August 2001
• Formed by the two associations that represent the
  55,000 pharmacies in the US
• NCPA (independents)
• NACDS (large chains)
• Pharmacy membership organization
• Operating capital driven solely by membership
  dues
• Works closely with community pharmacy
• Organized to support a strategic industry
  alliance to
• Improve the overall prescribing process
• Safety
• Efficiency
• Quality of Care
• Enable true electronic connectivity between
  physicians and pharmacies

90 of the nations pharmacies are certified to
connect to SureScripts Messenger Services
4
SureScripts Guiding Principles

• Neutrality
• Collaborate with industry stakeholders
• Ensure open access based on industry standards
• Consistent process for implementation and
  certification
• Do not provide end user application or endorse
  particular approach
• Patient Safety
• Deliver legible, complete prescriptions
• Eliminate duplicate entry of prescription
  information
• Eliminate verbal orders with sound alike
  medications
• Physician Pharmacist Relationship
• Improve patient care by strengthening
  physician-pharmacist relationship
• Choice
• Patient choice of pharmacy
• Physician choice of medication
• Physician choice of application
• Innovation and Adoption
• Creative alliances
• Infrastructure for communication
• Leadership disseminating adoption best practices
  and lessons learned

5
What is true electronic prescribing and whats
new?

• Secure, two-way, computer-to-computer information
  exchange between the physician practice and the
  pharmacy
• Automation of the entire prescribing process
• The ability to send and receive renewal
  authorizations and new prescription information
  from your computer to the pharmacy
• Substantially reduces pharmacy faxes and
  telephone calls to authorize renewal requests and
  clarify prescription information
• Renewal Authorizations, Prior Authorization,
  Formulary

6
SureScripts does NOT develop, sell, or endorse
electronic prescribing software, but works with
existing technology vendors to certify and
connect their solutions to the network
What the Physician Needs
What the Pharmacy Needs
SureScripts provides the behind-the-scenes
network that makes the two-way electronic
exchange of new prescription and renewal
information possible

• Electronic Prescribing Software that has been
  certified by SureScripts
• An Internet connection

• Pharmacy management software has been certified
  by SureScripts

7
Over 90 of the nations retail pharmacies have
systems certified to connect to the SureScripts
ePrescribing Network
Just some of the pharmacies connected to the
SureScripts Electronic Prescribing Network.
8
Illinois Pharmacy Landscape

• Over 50 of the total pharmacies are activated in
  Illinois- almost 1200 pharmacy locations
• Large chains activated include-Albertsons (Osco),
  CVS, Walgreens, Wal-Mart, Kroger
• Top independent software vendors certified-
  McKesson
• Safeway is controlled rollout- by region
• K Mart- focused on Sears merger with no focus on
  eRX
• Hy-Vee is working with certified application-
  almost ready

9
Sample of over 50 EMR and ePrescribing solutions

• EMR Solutions
• A4 Health Systems
• Allscripts
• ASP.MD
• AthenaHealth
• Axolotl
• Bond Medical
• Cerner
• ChartConnect
• Companion Technologies
• eMD
• Epic
• eClinicalWorks
• Health Systems Research
• iMedica
• InteGreat
• Medical Communication Systems

• EMR Solutions
• McKesson
• MedicWare
• MedNet System
• MedPlexus
• MOST LLC
• NextGen
• Practice Partners (Physician Micro Systems)
• Polaris Management, Inc.
• Smart EMR/VIPA Health
• SOAPware
• Synamed
• Wellogic

• ERx Solutions
• NetSmart Technologies
• DAW Systems
• DrFirst
• eHealth Solutions
• Gold Standard
• InstantDx
• LighthouseMD
• MDanywhere Technologies
• NewCrop
• MedPlus
• OA Systems
• MedAvant Healthcare Solutions
• RxNT
• Zix Corporation
• Other Services
• Kryptiq
• Navimedix
• RelayHealth

Completed SureScripts certification registered
as a SureScripts Certified Solution Provider
10
Evaluating Vendors

• Is the application certified to connect to the
  SureScripts Electronic Prescribing Network?
• What type of training is provided?
• Will the system work with your existing practice
  management software?
• Will the system work on your desktop and/or PDA?
• Will the system allow you to add other software
  modules if you wish to upgrade (e.g. lab results,
  charge capture)?
• Are special offers or incentive programs
  available to help you get started?
• Evaluation worksheet available at
• http//www.surescripts.com/certified-providers.htm
  
• Or contact the SureScripts Electronic Prescribing
  Resource Center at 1-866-RxReady.

11
Summary of benefits by stakeholder

• Patients
• Increased satisfaction due to fewer trips to the
  pharmacy
• Shorter waiting times
• Greater confidence in accuracy with the
  elimination of the potential for misinterpreted
  handwriting
• Preserves choice of pharmacy
• Physician practices
• Reduce hassle of faxes and call backs
• Save 2-3 hours/day staff time resolving
  prescription issues
• Save 1 hour/day physician time resolving renewals
  issues
• Significant efficiency gains for renewal
  authorizations
• Access to clinical decision support at point of
  care
• Preserve physician choice of medication

• Pharmacies
• Reduce errors due to misinterpretation
• Avoid delay of treatment due to missing
  information
• Time savings from substantially reduced calls and
  faxes with physician offices to clarify
  information
• Significant efficiency gains for renewal
  authorizations
• Elimination of data entry
• Improved morale given reduced hassle factor
• Payers
• Cost savings due to improved formulary compliance
  
• Reduced costs of patient care resulting from
  adverse drug events

12
SureScripts Adoption and Utilization Programs

• Work directly with certified physician vendors to
  connect their physicians
• Deployment management
• Best practices
• Utilization monitoring and follow up
• Track and address support issues
• Work with health plans to encourage and shape
  incentive programs for electronic prescribing and
  electronic health records
• e.g., Highmark
• Work with medical societies, health systems,
  quality improvement organizations, regional
  health information exchanges (RHIOs), etc., to
  drive physician adoption and utilization

13
Medication History, Eligibility and
FormularySolutions
14
Medication History, Eligibility and
FormularyWHAT are we doing?

• New Services Offering
• Medication History
• Requests, primarily from prescribers, for
  detailed medication history
• Responses, primarily from retail pharmacy,
  communicating known history
• Eligibility
• Requests seeking current coverage status of
  patient
• Responses detailing coverage details (identity of
  coverage)
• Formulary
• Health Plan, Prescription Benefit Manager,
  Employer formulary lists
• Ancillary information providing robust formulary
  detail
• Alternatives List
• Co-pay List
• Coverage Lists
• Therapy Requirements (step therapy, prior
  authorization, etc)

15
Medication History, Eligibility and Formulary
WHY are we doing this?

• Market Requirements Strategic presence
• Medication History is a clinical want that many
  prescribers/vendors would like to have access to.
  Retail pharmacy is best suited to provide this
  information
• Medication history can/will be used to support
  medication history reconciliation, electronic
  health records (EHR), Regional Health Information
  Organizations (RHIO) and potentially personal
  health records (PHR)
• SureScripts has been approached by multiple
  market stakeholders to provide a neutral
  alternative for the delivery of medication
  history, eligibility and formulary information to
  prescribers
• Standards are in place for these message types
• Medication History RXHREQ, RXHRES
• Eligibility X12 270 Request / X12 271 Response
• Formulary NCPDP Formulary Benefit v1.0
• CMS AHRQ Pilots
• The government is aiding to push the marketplace
  to embrace electronic prescribing through their
  pilots
• Electronic prescribing will be tested minimally
  focus on additional services

16
Medication History, Eligibility and Formulary
WHERE are we doing this?

• Pilot Geographies
• Tennessee
• New Jersey
• Nevada (Las Vegas)
• Florida
• Massachusetts
• Rhode Island
• Ohio
• Production Geographies
• TBD later this year

17
Summary

• True electronic prescribing process can help to
  improve practice efficiency, patient safety and
  patient convenience
• You can start easy by automating renewal
  authorizations first - - significantly reduce
  pharmacy faxes and phone calls
• SureScripts is the largest e-prescribing network
  with over 90 of the nations pharmacies enabled
  to exchange prescription information with
  physician practices
• To get connected, all you need is
• An internet connection
• An electronic prescribing solution that has been
  certified to connect to the SureScripts
  Electronic Prescribing Network

18
Questions? Thank you!

• mary.martin_at_SureScripts.com
• 703-921-5221