10 Ways ePrescribing Impacts Practice and Patient Safety

These days, your smart fridge can order your groceries without reading the list you wrote on the kitchen counter, so why are healthcare providers still writing prescriptions? In both cases, illegible handwriting can be a nightmare. For prescribers, paper prescriptions can lead to some very serious issues, the least of which are time-consuming corrections and frustrations for patients. In a worst-case scenario, patient safety and wellbeing are at risk.

ePrescribing solutions can help fix that. They can also provide protections for your healthcare practice including security and regulatory compliance and your patients. It’s enough for most practices to make the switch, whether required by law or not.

Quick Links:

• ePrescribing Adoption Rates Soar
• 10 Ways ePrescribing Improves Patient Safety
• 10 Ways ePrescribing Improves Healthcare Practice Safety
• 10 Ways to Evaluate ePrescribing Solutions

ePrescribing Adoption Rates Soar

In 2003, when Congress passed the Medicare Modernization Act, it introduced ePrescribing and its potential for healthcare providers. It took 3 years for most states to catch up and codify ePrescribing as a prescription solution. Then, in 2010, the DEA ruled to enable ePrescribing for controlled substances.

And now? 20 years later, nearly 92% of prescribers report using ePrescribing solutions. Similarly, 94% of all prescriptions were ePrescriptions. That same SureScripts report shows an approximate ePrescription growth rate of 10.4% year over year, jumping from roughly 1.5 billion in 2018 to 2.34 billion in 2022.

Additionally, 33 states have mandated electronic prescribing for controlled substances (EPCS), either currently in effect or with legislation set for future implementation. These mandates align with the federal requirements for Medicare Part D, and help individual states reduce prescription fraud and abuse while improving patient safety.

With additional states mandating ePrescribing for not just controlled substances but all medications, adoption rates will continue to rise, especially with EHR integration. 

10 Ways ePrescribing Improves Patient Safety

While there are several significant benefits to ePrescribing, among the most transformative is how it enhances patient safety. From reducing the risks of medication errors to improving prescription accuracy, automating the prescribing process helps eliminate risks.

Eliminating the ambiguities of handwritten prescriptions and integrating critical safety checks, such as drug interaction alerts and dosage verification, directly into healthcare providers' workflows boosts patient safety. Not only do patients receive the correct medication but it also supports adherence to treatment plans by streamlining the prescribing process from clinic to pharmacy.

More specifically, ePrescribing offers the following patient safety benefits: 

1. Eliminates prescription errors by reducing misinterpretation of handwriting, ensuring the pharmacist dispenses the correct medication and dosage.
2. Reduces drug interactions and allergy alerts. Real-time notifications alert providers about potential adverse interactions or patient allergies during prescription entry.
3. Standardized dosage recommendations help providers check dose-ranges to prevent over- or under-dosing, especially for vulnerable populations like children and the elderly.
4. Medication history integration offers immediate access to a patient's medication history, minimizing duplicate therapies and identifying adherence challenges.
5. Provides controlled substance monitoring via integration with state level prescription drug monitoring programs. Prescribers are not only able to detect and prevent abuse of controlled substances, but they also stay compliant with state and federal regulations. 
6. Prevents prescription fraud and forgery through secure, DEA-compliant electronic workflows, reducing risks of altered or counterfeit prescriptions.
7. Reduces prescription fulfillment delays by transmitting prescriptions directly to the pharmacy, cutting down on delays caused by manual processes or prescription clarifications.
8. Improves Communication and accuracy by enabling messaging between prescribers and pharmacists to clarify orders, reducing risks associated with misunderstandings.
9. Boosts chances of medication adherence through e-delivery of prescriptions to patient-preferred pharmacies and reminders for refills, improving long-term adherence.
10. Ensures medication safety during transfers of care. ePrescriptions can help facilitate continuity of care, by ensuring prescriptions are accessible across multiple healthcare systems.

In short, ePrescribing is more than a convenience—it is a critical component of modern healthcare focused on patient safety and better health outcomes.

10 Ways ePrescribing Improves Healthcare Practice Safety

There’s little doubt that patient safety is a primary concern for healthcare practices. However, another essential component of a successful practice, poised for growth, is ensuring the practice itself is safe from bottlenecks, errors, and poor outcomes that can jeopardize that.

ePrescribing significantly enhances healthcare practice safety by creating a streamlined, secure, and compliant environment for managing prescriptions. Not only does it minimize the risk of errors but it also strengthens communication between providers, pharmacies, and patients, ensuring prescriptions are accurate and traceable.

More specifically, ePrescribing improves healthcare practice safety by:

1. Reducing administrative errors by automating prescription processes, decreasing the risk of errors associated with manual entry or transcription.
2. Enhancing data security to provide secure, HIPAA-compliant systems to safeguard sensitive patient and prescription data.
3. Ensuring regulatory compliance by helping practices adhere to state and federal mandates, such as ePrescribing for controlled substances (EPCS) requirements.
4. Helping prevent prescription fraud by incorporating regulatory and DEA-compliant security features, including two-factor authentication, to prevent unauthorized access and prescription tampering.
5. Improving workflow efficiency by reducing the back-and-forth between providers and pharmacies for clarifications, enabling staff to focus on patient care.
6. Minimizing liability risks by providing a digital audit trail for all prescription transactions, protecting practices from potential legal disputes.
7. Facilitating prescription monitoring and reporting by integrating with state PDMPs to track controlled substance prescriptions and reduce the risk of misuse.
8. Keeping a practice and patient records agile in emergencies by ensuring operational continuity via access to prescription data across healthcare systems.
9. Reducing medication errors by flagging potential drug interactions, allergies, or contraindications before prescriptions are sent to the pharmacy.
10. Supporting medication adherence by enabling automated refill reminders and improving communication between providers and patients about their treatment plans.

From efficiency to error prevention, ePrescribing not only protects patients but also creates a safer, more efficient environment for healthcare providers.

10 Ways to Evaluate ePrescribing Solutions

Prioritizing both practice and patient safety should be a top goal of any healthcare practice. In fact, research suggests that a safety focused approach results in better outcomes for patients and ePrescribing is just one of the tools you have at your disposal.

However, there are a variety of ePrescribing software on the market and knowing what factors to consider, what questions to ask, and how to choose the best solution for your practice’s needs can be challenging.  

More specifically, choosing the right ePrescribing solution can significantly impact both the safety and efficiency of your practice. With numerous options available, practices must carefully evaluate features, compliance capabilities, and integration ease to ensure the solution meets their clinical and operational needs. By prioritizing tools that enhance patient care while simplifying provider workflows, practices can maximize the benefits of ePrescribing.

Ask these 10 Questions When Evaluating Any ePrescribing Solution

1. Compliance: Is the solution compliant with federal and state mandates, including EPCS and PDMP integration?
2. Ease of Use: Does the system offer an intuitive interface for providers and staff to minimize training time?
3. Drug Safety Features: Does it provide real-time alerts for drug interactions, allergies, and contraindications?
4. Integration: Can it integrate seamlessly with your existing EHR or practice management software?
5. Security: Does the solution use DEA-compliant measures like two-factor authentication to prevent fraud?
6. Pharmacy Connectivity: How extensive is the pharmacy network, and does the system support real-time prescription status updates?
7. Customizable Workflows: Can the solution adapt to the specific needs of your practice, such as formulary checks or specialty prescriptions?
8. Mobile Access: Does the system allow for prescribing and updates via mobile devices for on-the-go providers?
9. Reporting and Analytics: Does it provide actionable insights into prescribing trends and operational metrics?
10. Support and Scalability: What level of customer support is available, and can the solution scale with your practice’s growth?

Carefully evaluating these factors can help ensure your investment in an ePrescribing solution will enhance safety, compliance, and efficiency for both your organization and your patients.

It is with those factors in mind that iCoreConnect built iCoreRx, a comprehensive ePrescribing solution that integrates seamlessly with both existing practice management software and state prescription drug monitoring programs.

Whether you’re looking for compliance with mandates or to boost efficiency, safety, and accuracy, iCoreRX can help. Book a demo with our team today!