ifroehlich
Paving the Road to E-Prescribing Success
The most important key to the successful implementation of new technology in any practice is complete buy-in from providers and staff. If the decision to implement technology in your practice is not unanimous because some providers refuse to prescribe electronically or staff members don’t understand and appreciate the benefits, then the initiative will not be as successful as it could be. The potential for success is great, but when the office is divided the staff will often have to follow two separate workflows, and a system that could have benefited office staff the most has now become a nuisance to all.
It is important for any practice wanting to successfully adopt e-prescribing to appoint an “office champion”. This staff member will become the resident expert on the e-prescribing system and will be able to answer questions, push reluctant doctors towards the new technology, and be the primary point of contact with the vendor.
Other important factors to successful e-prescribing adoption include:
- One-way interface with your practice management software to save time from double-entry of patient data
- Setting system preferences to mimic your current office workflow
- Setting favorite prescriptions for frequently prescribed medications
- Check refill and renewal requests periodically throughout the day to prevent incoming pharmacy calls
Before you decide to invest in technology for your practice, ask your vendor to take the time to educate or provide educational materials to your staff and appoint an office champion. Get your staff excited to use this new technology and agree to give it 100%. Once you have buy-in from the whole team you are ready to optimize your practice and can pave the road to e-prescribing success.