Physicians Using GE Centricity Electronic Medical Records Can Now 'Get Connected' to Local Pharmacies for Safer, More Efficient Electronic Prescribing

SureScripts today announced that physicians using the GE Centricity electronic medical record (EMR) are now able to connect to the SureScripts Electronic Prescribing Network. The GE Centricity EMR is now approved as a SureScripts Certified Solution(TM). User locations of the newly certified Centricity EMR will use Kryptiq connectivity services to access the SureScripts network. Kryptiq is a leader in interoperability solutions for the healthcare industry.

The combination of GE's Centricity EMR, Kryptiq's connectivity software and the SureScripts network allows for more safe and efficient communications between a physician's office and over 90 percent of U.S. pharmacies. Using the SureScripts two-way connection, physicians and pharmacists can automate new prescription and refill requests by eliminating the need for various combinations of manual data entry, faxing and phone calls.

"As EMR adoption continues to grow, so does the healthcare industry's need for solutions that enable electronic information to be shared across whole communities," said Stephen Gorman, vice-president and general manager for GE Healthcare. "SureScripts provides the vital link between physicians and pharmacists in healthcare communities across the country. Today's announcement demonstrates GE's commitment to working with care providers and key technology partners to create digital healthcare for patients that is as local as it is safe and seamless."

A study by the Medical Group Management Association estimated that administrative complexity related to prescriptions costs a practice at least $20,000 a year for each full-time physician on staff. In the course of a single month, this translates to 55 hours that could be applied to patient care instead of administrative duties.

"Kryptiq's solutions improve the coordination of care by allowing EMR vendors to share clinical information between different systems and with other care providers," said Malcolm Costello, vice president of marketing for Kryptiq Corporation. "GE already uses Kryptiq's infrastructure to connect physicians to other physicians and patients, and now -- thanks to SureScripts -- pharmacies too."

With today's announcement, SureScripts has now contracted with 50 clinical software vendors representing 150,000 physician users. By taking a few simple steps to connect their certified software to SureScripts, physicians can process new prescriptions and refills much the same way 35 million U.S. consumers now pay bills: i.e. pointing and clicking over a secure network. No paper, pens, faxing or phone calls required.

Imagine using a computer and software to process your family's bills. But, instead of payments going directly into a creditor's computer system, they were sent to a fax machine at the creditor's office, arriving as a paper check (assume, for argument's sake, that checks via fax are an accepted form of payment).

Such an approach clearly sounds dated and odd. But to get a real appreciation for how valuable a network connection is, consider the events that would routinely follow:

--  Having to resend payment because the creditor's fax machine is out of
    paper or perhaps the toner was low;
--  Getting phone calls from a creditor shortly after they receive each
    faxed check in order to clarify the account and invoice number, amount paid
    and what funds were available to cover the payment -- all while they re-
    type the information from the faxed check into their computer system;
--  Receiving a return fax from creditors requesting the same payment for
    the same service every 30 to 90 days, for three to twelve months following
    the initial transaction -- all of which triggers the need for more phone
    calls in order to clarify and confirm payment details.

Now apply the same scenario -- unfortunately, a real life scenario -- to prescribing medications.

Today, most physicians have no network connection to their local pharmacies. As a result, the best they can do is fax new prescriptions using a computer. When it comes to refill requests, the phone and fax machine remain the tools of choice. "Electronic?" Perhaps, if one uses a definition of "electronic" from the Seventies -- but it is far from automated.

"Today's announcement means thousands more physicians who are using the GE Centricity EMR and pharmacists currently on the SureScripts network can put an end to the fax-fueled paper chase that has plagued the prescribing process for decades," said Kevin Hutchinson, president and chief executive officer of SureScripts. "By connecting their EMR software to SureScripts, physicians using GE Centricity EMR and Kryptiq will be able to send new prescriptions directly to their local pharmacist's computer screen. In return, local pharmacists will no longer be forced to fax refill requests to physicians who are using the GE Centricity EMR application. Truly automating the prescribing process and getting rid of the paper not only reduces medication errors, but gives physicians and their staff a rare opportunity to put hundreds of hours a year to more productive use."