E-prescribing: Eliminate friction 

Q. What is an e-prescribe platform? 

A. Electronic prescribing of medications and lab tests has been a part of the health care ecosystem for almost 20 years. It has been proven to improve quality of care, reduce errors, increase efficiency and lower administrative costs. However, these results have yet to be broadly replicated in the DME industry. In the past, e-prescribe for DME was largely focused on electronic transmission of data and documentation with little concern for the accuracy or qualification of the order. The result was simply a well formatted electronic fax that still needed to go back and forth multiple times before the DME provider could get paid. However, in the past few years, a new crop of true DME e-prescribe platforms has emerged. 

What is a true DME E-prescribe platform?  

All four of the DME e-prescribe platforms (DMEscripts, eOrders Plus, GoScripts, Parachute Health) are centered around producing complete and accurate DME orders. Unlike the e-faxed orders that come out of an electronic health record (EHR) or referral management platform, a high percentage of DME e-prescribe orders come with a billable and refillable prescription in addition to the accompanying documentation to prove medical necessity for the item being ordered. The orders produced by these platforms reduce, and many times remove, the rework that is inherent in the current fax and phone based DME ordering process.   

Without the friction point of rework, orders can sail smoothly from intake to delivery, resulting in real benefits for DME providers like faster delivery of orders, higher patient and health care provider satisfaction, reduced inbound calls and increased patient starts on service. With DME e-prescribe everyone wins—health care provider, DME provider and patient.  

Ken Hodel is vice president of development for DMEScripts. Reach him at ken.hodel@dmescripts.com.