E-Prescribing's Future Outlined at Symposium Hosted By RxHub and the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association
2008-05-22 12:15:43 -
www.rxhub.net/ - RxHub, LLC Chris Van Horrick, 651-855-3078 Chris.vanhorrick@rxhub.net Public and private collaborative efforts will accelerate e-Prescribing and immediately benefit patients and providers by saving lives, decreasing costs and improving the quality and efficiency of health care. That was the repeated theme of key political and industry stakeholders at the symposium hosted in Washington yesterday by the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association (PCMA) and RxHub, LLC.
Bipartisan support for mandatory e-Prescribing in Medicare Part D was echoed in addresses by former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, Sen. John Kerry and HHS Sec. Mike Leavitt. All three speakers strongly expressed a common message: requiring e-Prescribing in Medicare Part D is critical to driving increased physician adoption of e-Prescribing, saving billions of dollars in the next five years, as well as preventing thousands of deaths and unnecessary hospitalizations for Medicare beneficiaries.
The three addresses further noted that e-Prescribing standards are in place, the national infrastructure is secure, and that patient safety should be at the forefront of public policymaking. E-Prescribing standards will continue to evolve and e-Prescribing for controlled substances is needed today to realize the full benefits of e-Prescribing, they said.
Support for requiring e-Prescribing in Medicare Part D spans the public and private sectors, explained Mark Merritt, President and Chief Executive Officer for PCMA. He noted that a large collaborative of stakeholder groups, spearheaded by PCMA, has coalesced around this issue. They include government agencies, consumers, unions, employers, insurers, associations and industry organizations.
JP Little, Acting CEO and COO of RxHub, explained that RxHub is proud to have been instrumental in leading manifest change for e-Prescribing, which in turn will continue to foster widespread adoption and healthcare transformation. RxHub, LLC, operates the national patient health information network, which provides real-time clinical decision support information for approximately 200 million Americans at the point of care.
The symposium featured several engaged panel discussions focused on clinical decision support, patients and physicians, and technology infrastructure. Attendees at the sold-out event represented more than 70 companies and government agencies. This event underscores how far e-Prescribing has come and how deeply it is embedded in the fabric of health care, concluded Tom Groom, Senior VP for Business Development, at RxHub.
The Blueprint for E-Prescribing was also released during the symposium which is available to the public at www.rxhub.net. The Blueprint holds valuable information and details on the steps necessary to implement e-Prescribing throughout the country.
About RxHub LLC
RxHub (www.rxhub.net) provides authorized clinicians with secure access to real-time, patient specific prescription information for more than 200 million Americans within the United States. Prescription eligibility, formulary and benefits, and medication history information is provided - for consenting patients - to authorized clinicians at the point of care. This real-time decision support information is used by clinicians to effectively manage the patient's use of medications and enables the most clinically appropriate and cost effective medication therapy to be electronically prescribed for the patient. RxHub partners with prescription payers, technology providers, and pharmacy networks to improve patient safety, increase workflow efficiency and reduce the overall cost of health care delivery.
E-Prescribing is Happening Now and Collaborative Efforts will
Accelerate Adoption
