e-prescribing gains traction

YARMOUTH, Maine – Nearly 70% of respondents to a recent HME Newspoll say they currently use e-prescribing and they’re seeing it pay off. 

And of the respondents who are not, the vast majority (82%) say they plan to in the next year. 

“I believe many suppliers do not fully understand the amount of time that is saved in the order process when you receive the clean order through e-prescribing,” wrote Pamela Jones of Home Medical Supplies in Lone Tree, Colo. “I am a firm believer that this is the way to help clean up order processes, enjoy better outcomes with our patient care and see our audits become easier, because we didn't miss the required questions and document(ation) needed.” 

DMEscripts, an e-prescribing vendor created last year through an stakeholder-led group of investors, believes the HME industry is at the tipping point of driving “real scale” in the number of providers and referrals adopting the technology. 

But a number of factors still need to align for that to happen, say some poll respondents. They cite reluctant referral sources (50%) and the upfront investment required (30%) as the biggest obstacles to widespread adoption of e-prescribing. 

“We have to set up multiple meetings with referrals to show the platform and provide education on using it,” wrote Brandon Dressen of Dressen Medical Supply in Holly Springs, N.C. “The extra burden has been difficult.” 

Some respondents also expressed concerns about e-prescribing platforms that aren’t quite ready for prime time. 

“(We need) better platforms with better customer support,” wrote Erin Dolan of Med-Essentials in New Hartford, Conn. “There were software glitches and situations where our quality control department did not believe that the medical necessity document generated would hold up on an audit. Customer support was not familiar enough with coverage criteria or DME, in general, so issues were virtually impossible to get resolved.”