Protect patient data and address state and federal ePrescribing mandates

ePrescribing software has had a large impact on reducing medication errors, enhancing patient safety, streamlining the process of sending prescriptions to the pharmacy, dispensing medication, and obtaining refills. 

With federal mandates set for 2023, including EPCS, it is important that health care providers are on board with the requirements and have the ePrescribing tools and reporting in place to ensure safe patient care and compliance.

ePrescribing is a safer practice and is in the best interest of the patient. The Association for Managed Care Pharmacy (AMCP) notes that many medication errors start with the handwriting of the prescriber. When writing is illegible it is easy to make assumptions, misread, and dispense an incorrect drug. The solution—ePrescribe.

Not all ePrescribing solutions are equal. Look for one that can connect to your Electronic Medical Records ( EMR) system. The supplemental information that is available when there is an integration gives prescribers a full picture of patient health history, other prescribed medications, drug allergies, confirmation of insurance coverage, plus the ability to see out-of-pocket medication costs for the patient if a Real-Time Benefit Tool is configured. This allows the prescriber to take many factors into consideration for a more personalized approach to medicine.

Equally as important is the information or reporting that your ePrescribing system gives back to you. The data captured should be usable to help improve the quality of care, help you find efficiencies on the administrative side of the practice, and be an informative tool that enhances the speed, service, and safety of the patient experience. What good are all the bells and whistles if you can’t use them to make better-informed decisions and improve your practice?

Here are 5 essential reporting elements to look for from your ePrescribing solution provider:

1) EPCS Audit / Incident Reporting

Electronic Prescribing of Controlled Substances (EPCS) is a prescriber’s ability to electronically send Schedule II–V controlled substance prescriptions directly to a pharmacy from the point-of-care. It is an important element in improving the quality of patient care, and it has the potential to minimize medication errors for patients and reduce prescription forgery, diversion, and theft to combat prescription drug abuse.

Although the federal ePrescribing mandate took effect on January 1, 2021, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) finalized a compliance date of January 1, 2023. If you haven’t already implemented an ePrescribing system, it is time for serious consideration.

To ensure Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) compliance, both status and incident reports for EPCS are necessary for certification for controlled substances, as well as Identity Proofing (IDP) and Two-Factor Authentication (TFA).

2) PDMP / NARX Reporting

Prescription drug monitoring programs (PDMPs) are state-level programs designed to improve opioid prescribing, inform clinical practice, and protect patients at risk. PDMPs aim to identify changes in prescribing behaviors, track the use of multiple providers by patients, and attempt to decrease substance abuse treatment admissions. NARX reporting establishes patient risk scores and usage patterns to help identify potential risk factors for PDMPs.   

With the majority of states using these programs, utilizing NARX scores to identify risk, receiving full PDMP reports, and accessing multi-state reporting is critical to ensuring patient safety.

3) HIPAA / Meaningful Use Compliance Reporting

The Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) is one way to participate in the Quality Payment Program—combining the Physician Quality Reporting System (PQRS), the Value-Based Payment Modifier (VM) Program, and the Medicare Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentives into one program.

Under MIPS, providers need to measure and report data for the quality, improvement, and interoperability performance categories to determine scores and any incentive payments.

Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) and Interoperability reporting for Meaningful Use eligibility and certification requirements are necessary to participate in these incentive programs.

4) Prescription Review Reporting

To ensure timely medication management, ensure patient safety, and improve quality control it is necessary to have reporting that allows clinicians to filter reports for all prescriptions by clinic, clinician, and/or prescription status; to review all transmissions; and to review all scripts and refill requests for outcomes.

Not only are these reports critical to timely and safe patient care, they are also helpful for demonstrating progress for Meaningful Use / Stage 1—Data Capture and Sharing.

5) Clinical Operations and Efficiency Reporting

For organizations that have multiple practice management groups or remote providers like telemedicine or teledentistry, it is important to track how many new clinicians are using the software to write prescriptions within a given period, group patients that are seen at multiple locations and billing groups attached to those clinics, and keep data clean for practices with patients in multiple locations.

Increasing practice efficiency, as well as patient care, convenience, and safety, are key elements to any ePrescription system or software. At DoseSpot, our reporting gives you the tools you need for comprehensive analysis, compliance, and patient data management. The DoseSpot reporting module was built from the ground up with requirements from our customers to ensure you have access to the data you need at the click of a button. With filters available for all reports including location, clinic, date, prescription status, and more get the reliable data you need, anytime.

Reviewing reporting on a regular cadence also helps to uncover new training opportunities and allows quality control measures to be followed. Practices can identify and set standard operating procedures for refill timing, prescriptions in an error status, or other delays in medication transmission. If errors or delays start to spike, they can be isolated by clinic location or clinician and additional user training can be delivered.

With 2023 quickly approaching, the time to get ePrescriptions into your practice is now. If you are looking for a system that is Surescripts and EPCS certified and compliant with all federal and state requirements, DoseSpot can help.