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What is ePrescribing?
Delaware Medicaid is committed to providing the highest level of quality care for recipients across the state. Since November of 2008, Delaware Medicaid patient data has been available electronically to authorized participant providers enrolled in the Medicaid program that utilize an electronic prescribing software package.
What is electronic prescribing, or E-Prescribing? If your doctor orders medication for you, and you go to the pharmacy without a handwritten slip of paper, you have a provider that E-Prescribes. The clear and legible prescription was transmitted electronically to the pharmacy on your behalf, and you just need to show up at the pharmacy to pick up your order.
The added benefit that Delaware Medicaid has provided is the access to the patient information, such as eligibility confirmation, benefit plan information, and past medication history. This way, providers can verify Medicaid eligibility, view the covered drugs and alternatives, and check past prescription orders all in a few seconds. Prescription renewals are streamlined as well. The patient can request their medication to be renewed right at the pharmacy. Providers can also check for potential interactions with existing allergies and other prescribed medications. These added benefit leaves more time for patient encounters and provides more information to providers to make better decisions regarding patient care.
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ePrescribing Benefits
Here are some of the many benefits that moving to an E-Prescribing system will provide:
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Increased safety for patients - with a clear, legible prescription order, prescriptions are filled correctly without the need for clarification. Alerts and warnings prevent potential drug and allergy interactions with new medications being prescribed.
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Reduction of fraud - medication history reports show providers what prescriptions have been filled and when. This knowledge aids doctors in making the right decisions for future prescription orders for a patient.
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Patient quality of care - with instant availability to information about drug history and benefit coverage, more time can be spent with the patient encounters and less with back and forth with the pharmacies and insurance companies.
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Medication management - knowing at a glance what medications a patient is taking and what is covered, the available alternatives, and other clinical decision support, doctors can make better decisions on managing a patient's medication therapy regimen.
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Efficiencies and lower costs - with E-Prescribing, workflow is more streamlined. Electronic renewal requests can be responded to in seconds instead of phone calls and faxing.
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Medicare incentives - see the CMS website (Incentives) for more details on how to participate in the Medicare incentive program for E-Prescribers
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Future requirements - Electronic Prescribing and Electronic Health Records are coming trends for the future. Some states have already or are in the process of passing legislation to mandate the future use of electronic systems for medication ordering and health records for patients.
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