Long-term care is increasingly about shorter stays for patients
Ozark, Mo. (PRWEB) April 08, 2016
HealthMEDX®, a provider of comprehensive EMR solutions for the non-acute healthcare markets, announced today the launch of HealthMEDX® Prescribe, an integrated e-Prescribing product that allows secure order, transmission, authentication, dispensing and tracking of controlled and non-controlled substances between LTPAC providers and their pharmacy partners.
HealthMEDX Prescribe allows clinicians to electronically prescribe controlled substances in the post-acute setting, with the overall goal of safe and effective management of narcotics and other non-controlled substances. Over-prescription of these often-abused medications has been the focus of intense scrutiny in recent years, as opioid abuse and deaths have each quadrupled nationwide in the past 15 years, according to the Centers for Disease Control.
Narcotics are a necessary fact of life in the post-acute environment, where providers manage patients through surgical recoveries and painful chronic conditions. But according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the number of seniors misusing or dependent on these medications increased nearly threefold from 2002-2012, resulting in a 50 percent increase in medication-related ER visits for those over age 65.
The Prescribe product launch was strategically timed to meet the 2016 New York iSTOP regulatory deadline faced by HealthMEDX customers in that state, which has since been amended with a one-year exemption for long-term care providers through March 27, 2017. Company founder and COO Charlie Daniels says that – regardless of changes to the NY state regulation – HealthMEDX customers see the value of integrated e-Prescribing functionality, and that his company will begin roll-out ahead of the required date to help NY LTPAC providers more effectively manage their electronically medication processes, while also meeting government mandates around prescription of controlled substances.
The HealthMEDX Prescribe solution is fully certified by the Drug Enforcement Administration for Electronic Prescribing of Controlled Substances (EPCS), which is now legal in all 50 states and requires secure two-factor authentication. Additionally, the HealthMEDX Vision platform has been certified for connection to the Surescripts® network, and Daniels said that the combined DEA and Surescripts certifications will allow the processing of discharge medications (controlled and non-controlled) to the majority of U.S. retail pharmacies.
“Long-term care is increasingly about shorter stays for patients,” he said at the announcement. “In our rapidly evolving market, LTPAC providers will need the ability to electronically order, authenticate, track and manage prescription information across multiple care transitions for each patient. Our solution ensures that customers will not only comply with government requirements, but can streamline medication processes to reduce costly medication errors.”
Surescripts, which connects pharmacies, care providers, benefit managers and technology partners, delivered more than 1.2 billion electronic prescriptions in 2014, including 1 million for controlled substances, according to Surescripts National Progress Report. Today, 95 percent of pharmacies and just over 8 percent of prescribers in the United States are prepared to transmit those types of prescriptions.
For more on HealthMEDX Prescribe, our comprehensive Vision platform or other innovative solutions for LTPAC providers, visit our website or email TellMeMore(at)HealthMEDX.com.
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About HealthMEDX
HealthMEDX® is a developer of comprehensive EMR solutions for providers in the long-term, post-acute, home care and hospice settings. Our integrated HealthMEDX Vision® platform streamlines clinical, financial and reporting for organizations of any size, while innovative mobile and analytics functionalities deliver operational value to end-users, physicians and executives. http://www.healthmedx.com