As Demand For E-Prescribing and Information About It Grows, The New Surescripts Launches a New Website
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Whether You Are a Doctor, Pharmacist, Payer, Hospital,
Policymaker or Software Vendor, The Electronic Prescribing Resource
Center Offers One-Click Access
to the Latest News, Stats, Research and Advice About
E-Prescribing
ALEXANDRIA, Va. and ST. PAUL, Minn. - March 10, 2009
- SureScripts-RxHub, whichoperates the country's largest
national electronic prescribing network, today announced that the
company will henceforth be known as Surescripts®. To mark the
occasion, the new Surescripts has launched The E-Prescribing
Resource Center (www.surescripts.com), where
doctors, pharmacists, payers, hospitals, policymakers and software
vendors can go to find the latest information and advice about
e-prescribing. Resources featured on the new Web site
include:
Who's Connected - Enter your ZIP code to find out
which physicians and pharmacies eprescribe in your community and
view a full list of the payers, pharmacy benefit managers and
pharmacies connected to the Surescripts network.
Certification Status - Check a software vendor's
status and gauge its product's support for e-prescribing.
E-Prescribing Statistics & Rankings - See the
latest state and national data that tracks e-prescribing growth and
read about progress at both levels, including Surescripts' annual
ranking of states.
How to Get Connected - View step-by-step guides on
how to establish a connection to the Surescripts network whether
you are a technology vendor, physician, payer or
pharmacy.
Best Practices - For those physicians,
pharmacists, pharmacy benefit managers and payers already
e-prescribing, Surescripts provides education on how e-prescribing
works, tips on how to solve problems and guidance on how to get the
most out of your eprescribing investment.
Policy Updates - Surescripts' experts share their
views and offer background on
important policy developments.
News & Events - Read about important
announcements related to e-prescribing, and sign up to receive
regular updates on important news and events from across the
industry.
Also highlighted throughout the site are Surescripts' re-branded
services. What were once presented as seven discrete services are
now three, reflecting the three steps that define
eprescribing:
Prescription Benefit, Prescription History and Prescription
Routing. Consistent with the promise of the merger between
SureScripts and RxHub, the change is part of a larger effort aimed
at simplifying e-prescribing for physicians, payers, pharmacies,
technology vendors and the market at large. That same principle
carries over to the network upon which those services are offered -
now known as the Surescripts network. To see a demonstration of how
the Surescripts network and services enable e-prescribing, please
visit www.surescripts.com and click on "How Electronic Prescribing
Works.
"When it comes to e-prescribing, we are in a very unique position,"
said Rob Cronin, spokesperson for Surescripts. "We are right in the
middle of it all, enabling e-prescribing every second of every day
in communities throughout the country. That gives us a perspective
and understanding that not only is unique, but obligates us to
share our deep knowledge of eprescribing in the most effective and
efficient way we know. So, in addition to operating a nationwide
network, testing and certifying software, and connecting all the
players that make e-prescribing possible, the new Surescripts will
feature The E-Prescribing Resource Center as
another critical part of what we do."
Surescripts is the result of a 2008 merger between the country's
two leading health information networks: RxHub and SureScripts.
RxHub was founded in 2001 by the nation's three largest PBMs - CVS
Caremark Corporation, Express Scripts, Inc. and Medco Health
Solutions, Inc.
SureScripts was also formed in 2001 by the National Association of
Chain Drug Stores (NACDS) and the National Community Pharmacists
Association (NCPA). Both were created with the sam goal in mind -
to reduce the cost and improve the safety and efficiency of a
process relied on by millions of patients every day.
In 2008, the U.S. saw twofold growth in e-prescribing adoption and
use. This continues the trend of the last three years. A review of
2006-2008 operational data from SureScripts and RxHub indicates
that electronic requests for prescription information, the
responses to those requests and the number of prescriptions routed
electronically totaled nearly half a billion. (Note: More detailed
data will be made available in the soon-to-be-released 2008
National Progress Report on
E-Prescribing. Visit www.surescripts.com/report
for more information.)
As Medicare incentives, federal stimulus funding, and new state and
federal adoption initiatives take hold, the momentum behind
e-prescribing is only expected to grow. However, there is a
demonstrated need to support that growth with access to unbiased
information and advice that allows users to realize the full
benefit of the technology.
In the weeks and months to come, visitors to www.surescripts.com
can expect to see many updates to The E-Prescribing Resource
Center, including more frequent releases of state and national
e-prescribing statistics and online communities for physicians and
pharmacists.
About SureScripts
Founded by the pharmacy industry in 2001, SureScripts ® operates
the Pharmacy Health Information Exchange ™, which facilitates the
secure electronic transmission of prescription information between
physicians and pharmacists and provides access to lifesaving
information about patients during emergencies or routine care.
Today, more than 95 percent of all pharmacies and all major
physician technology vendors in the United States are certified on
the Pharmacy Health Information Exchange. More information about
SureScripts is available at www.surescripts.com.
