E-Prescribing (e-Rx) EMR Software system has changed the way how healthcare operates by allowing clinicians and other medical staff to send prescription data digitally to pharmacies. Hand-written prescriptions are now seen as inefficient and can result in errors due to handwriting issues which can harm patient safety levels. E-Prescribing software is being embraced by hospitals and practices in the United States to enhance patient safety and streamline administrative workflow which ultimately saves a lot of time and money. Before looking at the benefits of this robust software system let’s look at how the e-Rx software works to give complete benefits to patients and practitioners.

How does the E-Prescribing (e-Rx) EMR software work?

E-prescribing is run by a software system that sends medication prescriptions electronically to pharmacies. When a patient comes to a prescriber, the prescriber can use the E-Prescribing software system on their smartphone or tablet to write and send prescriptions. Refill requests can also be sent by the pharmacy to the prescriber via the powerful software solution.

6 Reasons to Implement an e-Prescribing Solution

  1. Reduce margin of error – E-prescriptions are extremely clear and accurate as compared to hand-written prescriptions, the dosage is precise which helps to reduce any medication and prescription errors. E-prescriptions provide the most accurate information regarding how long the dosage needs to be taken by the patient and decrease the risk of improper dosage which leads to improved patient safety.
  2. Automatic alerts – A good e-Rx software system integrates with the Electronic Medical Records (EMR) software which offers the facility of instant clinical alerts. Most visits to the ER in the United States are caused by preventable adverse drug events which can be reduced with the functionality of e-prescribing as they prevent a clinician to prescribe a medication that the patient may be allergic to. Multiple treatments can also be avoided as many e-prescribing software systems offer prompt alerts about duplicate therapies.
  3. Saves time for pharmacy employees – E-prescriptions are accurate and hence it saves time for pharmacy employees as they don’t have to verify medication orders by calling the prescriber. The e-Rx EMR solution requires specific mandatory fields to be filled out before the order is sent which saves time as every important information is complete.
  4. Meets the criteria of meaningful use – E-prescribing software meets the complete requirements of meaningful use in the resulting methods; Stage 1 – Required 40% of prescriptions to be sent electronically, Stage 2 – More than 50% of prescriptions required to be sent electronically, Stage 3 – Entails more than 80% of prescriptions to be transmitted electronically.
  5. Prescribe controlled substances with no trouble – The robust solution allows practitioners to easily prescribed controlled substances to pharmacies. This results in workflow productivity for the hospital staff and provides convenience to the patients.
  6. Lowers costs – A study released by Surescripts revealed that electronic prescribing boosts first-fill medication adherence by 10% and can save $140-$240 billion over the next decade.

The e-prescribing platform is flexible and allows hospitals and practitioners to stay connected with national pharmacies to improve medication adherence and patient safety.