CONTACT
DrFirst, Inc.
Irene Froehlich
Director of Marketing
240-671-3320
ifroehlich@drfirst.com
SureScripts
Rob Cronin
917-414-5289
rob.cronin@surescripts.com
DrFirst™ Achieves SureScripts GoldRx™ Certification for 2007
Rcopia E-Prescribing Software Attains Advanced Certification for Pharmacy Interoperability
January 23, 2008 - Alexandria, VA -- SureScripts, operator of the Pharmacy Health Information Exchange™, today announced that DrFirst’s award-winning Rcopia e-prescribing software has achieved GoldRx advanced product certification for 2007. The announcement gives special status to DrFirst for going beyond SureScripts’ baseline product compliance with technical standards to promote improved pharmacy-physician interconnectivity.
”We are proud to have achieved this certification for the second consecutive year,” said G. Cameron Deemer, president for DrFirst. “Consistently developing our product and operating above the industry standard has been our goal since the inception of Rcopia, when we were the first company to realize the need for connecting electronically to both SureScripts and RxHub. Our vision is to be instrumental in creating connected communities through partnerships with EMRs, health plans, health systems, physician groups, and hospitals utilizing our products and services.”
Over the past two years, SureScripts has tested and certified the applications of every major e-prescribing and electronic medical record (EMR) vendor in the U.S. More than 105 physician technology solutions are certified by SureScripts to enable their software and services to exchange prescription information with local pharmacies. However, the vast majority of physicians are still using older versions of their vendors’ software that have no bi-directional electronic pharmacy connectivity. Therefore, renewal requests are still processed by phone and fax; patients’ medication histories from community pharmacies are unavailable to physicians; and patients’ formulary and eligibility information is not as complete as it could be.
“SureScripts and many health IT experts believe that the electronic link between a physician and a pharmacist is the most critical and the most achievable first step toward broader healthcare interoperability,” said Rick Ratliff, chief operating officer for SureScripts. “For physicians making an investment in the safety of their patients, the efficiency of their practice and the quality of their own clinical decision making, GoldRx certification helps them know which software vendors are actually delivering on pharmacy interoperability and other critical levels of automation. We congratulate DrFirst on achieving GoldRx product certification for DrFirst Rcopia for 2007.”
DrFirst achieved advanced SureScripts GoldRx certification status by surpassing benchmarks for vendor performance across a number of categories:
DrFirst is a national provider of physician connectivity services through its award-winning, GoldRx Certified Rcopia electronic prescription management system. Founded in 2000, DrFirst creates innovative services targeted to physicians in both ambulatory and acute care environments. DrFirst solutions are widely integrated with practice management and electronic medical records software through its "Open Borders" program, and the company counts among its client base not only physician practices, but major health plans, health systems, and EMR vendors. DrFirst partners with SureScripts and RxHub for pharmacy connectivity, health plan information, and patient medication history. More information about DrFirst can be found at www.drfirst.com.
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. Working collaboratively with health plans, health systems, technology vendors and health policy leaders, SureScripts is committed to improving the safety, efficiency, and quality of the prescribing process. More information about SureScripts is available at www.surescripts.com.
Rcopia E-Prescribing Software Attains Advanced Certification for Pharmacy Interoperability
January 23, 2008 - Alexandria, VA -- SureScripts, operator of the Pharmacy Health Information Exchange™, today announced that DrFirst’s award-winning Rcopia e-prescribing software has achieved GoldRx advanced product certification for 2007. The announcement gives special status to DrFirst for going beyond SureScripts’ baseline product compliance with technical standards to promote improved pharmacy-physician interconnectivity.
”We are proud to have achieved this certification for the second consecutive year,” said G. Cameron Deemer, president for DrFirst. “Consistently developing our product and operating above the industry standard has been our goal since the inception of Rcopia, when we were the first company to realize the need for connecting electronically to both SureScripts and RxHub. Our vision is to be instrumental in creating connected communities through partnerships with EMRs, health plans, health systems, physician groups, and hospitals utilizing our products and services.”
Over the past two years, SureScripts has tested and certified the applications of every major e-prescribing and electronic medical record (EMR) vendor in the U.S. More than 105 physician technology solutions are certified by SureScripts to enable their software and services to exchange prescription information with local pharmacies. However, the vast majority of physicians are still using older versions of their vendors’ software that have no bi-directional electronic pharmacy connectivity. Therefore, renewal requests are still processed by phone and fax; patients’ medication histories from community pharmacies are unavailable to physicians; and patients’ formulary and eligibility information is not as complete as it could be.
“SureScripts and many health IT experts believe that the electronic link between a physician and a pharmacist is the most critical and the most achievable first step toward broader healthcare interoperability,” said Rick Ratliff, chief operating officer for SureScripts. “For physicians making an investment in the safety of their patients, the efficiency of their practice and the quality of their own clinical decision making, GoldRx certification helps them know which software vendors are actually delivering on pharmacy interoperability and other critical levels of automation. We congratulate DrFirst on achieving GoldRx product certification for DrFirst Rcopia for 2007.”
DrFirst achieved advanced SureScripts GoldRx certification status by surpassing benchmarks for vendor performance across a number of categories:
- Customer Education – vendors must raise awareness among physician customers of the opportunity to communicate new prescription and renewal information with pharmacists electronically.
- Proven Pharmacy Interoperability – vendors must make pharmacy interoperability part of every new client installation.
- Advanced Medication Management – vendors must enable their applications to receive medication history from community pharmacies, as well as formulary/eligibility services from the payers and PBMs certified by SureScripts.
- Workflow Enhancements – vendors must meet specific service-level requirements related to the operations of the Pharmacy Health Information Exchange, and implement changes to their software based on established best practices.
- Demonstrable Expertise – vendors must meet a number of benchmarks for “live” customer deployments.
DrFirst is a national provider of physician connectivity services through its award-winning, GoldRx Certified Rcopia electronic prescription management system. Founded in 2000, DrFirst creates innovative services targeted to physicians in both ambulatory and acute care environments. DrFirst solutions are widely integrated with practice management and electronic medical records software through its "Open Borders" program, and the company counts among its client base not only physician practices, but major health plans, health systems, and EMR vendors. DrFirst partners with SureScripts and RxHub for pharmacy connectivity, health plan information, and patient medication history. More information about DrFirst can be found at www.drfirst.com.
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. Working collaboratively with health plans, health systems, technology vendors and health policy leaders, SureScripts is committed to improving the safety, efficiency, and quality of the prescribing process. More information about SureScripts is available at www.surescripts.com.