DoseSpot Completes Electronic Prescribing of Controlled Substances Certification with Drummond Group

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Needham Heights, MA (PRWEB) October 15, 2014 - DoseSpot, an industry leader in e-Prescribing integration platforms for medical, dental and telehealth software, today announced that its software application has completed the required third-party Electronic Prescribing of Controlled Substances (EPCS) audit with Drummond Group Inc., a global software test and certification body that was approved by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to audit EPCS software applications.

DoseSpot selectively pursued EPCS Certification with Drummond Group, one of the first DEA approved certification bodies. “After undergoing Drummond Group’s extensive audit process and phased approach to understanding the EPCS requirements, DoseSpot may now deliver audited and trusted EPCS software to their customers,” said Aaron Gomez, Drummond Group’s Director of EPCS Auditing.

The audited EPCS software also incorporates industry leading two-factor authentication and identity proofing technologies to meet the requirements of the DEA Interim Final Rule for EPCS. “We strive to provide an easy-to-use e-Prescribing interface and our team has successfully incorporated the EPCS functionality without disrupting our existing user experience,” said Greg Waldstreicher, President, DoseSpot.

DoseSpot prescribers will now have the ability to e-Prescribe controlled substances in 49 states. “In less than six months, New York will be the first state to mandate e-Prescribing, including EPCS,” added Greg Waldstreicher. “We are committed to offering the best e-Prescribing integration experience for our current and future software customers and have made the process for enabling EPCS incredibly easy.”

For more information on DoseSpot’s EPCS software, please visit http://www.DoseSpot.com or contact Lindsay Walsh, Lindsay(at)dosespot(dot)com.

About DoseSpot 
DoseSpot is a Surescripts™ certified e-Prescribing platform specifically designed to integrate with electronic health record, electronic dental record, practice management and telehealth software. DoseSpot has provided simple, affordable and integratable e-Prescribing solutions to healthcare IT companies since 2009. To request a demo of DoseSpot’s e-Prescribing integration platforms, please visit http://www.DoseSpot.com/.

About Drummond Group Inc. 
Drummond Group Inc. is a global software test and certification lab and third-party auditor that serves a wide range of vertical industries. In healthcare, Drummond Group tests and certifies Controlled Substance Ordering Systems (CSOS), Electronic Prescription of Controlled Substances (EPCS) software and processes, and Electronic Health Records (EHRs) – designating the trusted test lab as the only third-party certifier/auditor of all three initiatives designed to move the industry toward a digital future. Founded in 1999, and accredited for the Office of the National Coordinator HIT Certification Program as an Authorized Certification Body (ACB) and an Authorized Test Lab (ATL), Drummond Group continues to build upon its deep experience and expertise necessary to deliver reliable and cost-effective services. For more information, please visit http://www.drummondgroup.com or email DGI(at)drummondgroup(dot)com.

Read the full press release here: http://www.prweb.com/releases/2014/10/prweb12249755.htm

Pain, Pain Go Away: What Would Dr. House Say?

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With the ability to e-Prescribe controlled substances soon to be a widespread reality in the U.S., pain medication management is currently a discussion “hot topic” among many clinicians. Hospital staff members at University Medical Center of Princeton at Plainsboro (UMCPP)—the former stomping ground of Dr. Gregory House—are no exception. In need of a major floor plan facelift a few years ago, the UMCPP team visited the design drawing board to revamp patient rooms. What they came away with was a mock hospital room to test with real patients. Complete with a guest sofa, outdoor view, novel drug dispensary, and easy-to-access restroom, this hospital room became an evaluation site for patients recovering from knee and hip replacements. Healthcare professionals at UMCPP hoped that this new layout would reduce slip-and-fall accidents, medication mix-ups, and other hospital-related mishaps.

Compared to the old hospital rooms, patients staying in the mock room rated food and nursing care higher, although meals and care were the same. The most compelling results? Patients asked for 30 percent LESS pain medication in the mock room. According to many medical professionals, reduced pain is thought to lead to shorter recovery time, reduced hospital stays, and lower hospital costs.

What were once premature and isolated statistics are now a success for UMCPP. The mock patient room became a reality in 2012, when UMCPP opened its new $523 million, 636,000 square-foot hospital in Plainsboro, New Jersey. Since the grand and much-needed opening, patient satisfaction ratings have been in the 99^th percentile—a major leap from the 61^st percentile prior to the move. With infection rates at an all-time low, UMCPP will keep improving hospital care—and dispensing less pain meds.

Sources: The New York Times and HC+O

For more details on UMCPP’s innovative patient rooms, check out a floor plan here, in the New York Times’ recent article.

To see a list of top U.S. hospitals that are tackling the issue of pain management, check out Becker’s Hospital Review here.

About DoseSpot

DoseSpot is a Surescripts™ certified e-Prescribing platform specifically designed to integrate with electronic health record, electronic dental record, practice management and telehealth software. DoseSpot has provided simple, affordable and integratable e-Prescribing solutions to healthcare IT companies since 2009. For more information, please visit www.DoseSpot.com.

Medication Adherence Apps Raise Healthcare Hopes

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Here at DoseSpot,

We’re all about changing the face of America’s prescription system. With our e-prescribing integration platforms, the goal is to make prescription writing and transmission more efficient and secure. Another technological tool making some innovative headway on the prescription front is the smartphone medication adherence app.

Medication non-adherence is a prevalent and costly problem that contributes to poor treatment outcomes and exhausts valuable healthcare resources. The 2013 National Report on Medication Adherence in America estimated that non-adherence is costing the U.S. health care system a whopping $290 billion annually! Interventions to mitigate non-adherence have been largely unsuccessful in the past, but a slew of easy-to-use apps are hoping to improve outcomes.

Using Apple, Android, or Blackberry smartphones, patients can download medication adherence apps such as (hyperlink) MyMedSchedule, MediSafe and RxmindMe, and set basic medication reminders, create schedules, track lab results and more. Former U.S. Surgeon General C. Everett Koop once said, “drugs don’t work in patients who don’t take them” and if medication adherence apps can reduce existing headache-inducing treatment blunders, U.S. healthcare providers may finally be able to breathe a much needed sigh of relief.

Sources: Medscape and National Community Pharmacists Association

For more information on medication adherence apps that are currently on the market, explore this helpful link from the American Pharmacists Association:

http://www.pharmacist.com/medication-adherence-there%E2%80%99s-app.

CHALLENGE: Calling all tech-powered women! Do you have what it takes to tackle the U.S. medication adherence issue? If so, check out the 2014 Surescripts Adherence Challenge. Applications are being accepted through July 22!

About DoseSpot

DoseSpot is a Surescripts™ certified e-Prescribing platform specifically designed to integrate with electronic health record, electronic dental record, practice management and telehealth software. DoseSpot has provided simple, affordable and integratable e-Prescribing solutions to healthcare IT companies since 2009. For more information, please visit www.DoseSpot.com.

What do e-Prescribing and the World Cup have in common?

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The World Cup has us all thinking from a more global perspective.  Whether you call it soccer or football, the sport continues to gain popularity worldwide.  Also increasing prevalence across nations is e-Prescribing.  According to a recent market report by Transparency Market Research, the global e-Prescribing market is expected to reach $887 million by 2019, up from $250.2 million in 2013.  It’s not yet in the billions like the World Cup but it’s an impressive figure and speaks to the momentum health IT is gaining.

The report highlights that while Europe is the largest market for e-Prescribing, North America is currently the fastest growing e-Prescribing market in the world.  The remarkable growth is in large part due to the various government programs requiring e-Prescribing integration to improve care quality and reduce errors.  Government initiatives are also contributing to increased usage across Asia.  We forecast that industry adoption in North America will continue to increase as physicians want the capability to send prescriptions for controlled substances electronically (EPCS).

About DoseSpot

DoseSpot is a Surescripts™ certified e-Prescribing platform specifically designed to integrate with electronic health record, electronic dental record, practice management and telehealth software. DoseSpot has provided simple, affordable and integratable e-Prescribing solutions to healthcare IT companies since 2009. For more information, please visit www.DoseSpot.com.

ePrescribe Controlled Substances in 2010?

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After a long anticipated wait, the DEA is revising its regulations to provide prescribers the ability to electronically prescribe controlled substances.

On June 27, 2008, DEA published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to revise the regulation to allow creation, signature, transmission and processing of controlled substances electronically. The DEA gave consideration to over 200 comments while drafting the IFR.

The DEA’s obligation as noted in the rule, is to ensure that the regulations minimize, to the greatest extent possible, the potential for diversion of a controlled substance resulting from non-registrants gaining access to electronic prescribing applications and systems.  The concern of insufficient Security has been the main barrier to allowing the ePrescription of controlled substances.  The authentication methods used in online or desktop applications is generally username and password.  Passwords are easily guessed or broken by using various password guessing programs.

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E-prescribing triggers more prescription of controlled substances

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A shift from handwritten to computer-generated prescriptions was associated with a substantial increase in the proportion of controlled substances prescribed out in a New York hospital.

The removal of an impediment to prescription writing was linked to the rise in Schedule II opioids and benzodiazepines prescriptions at the emergency department of the Good Samaritan Hospital Medical Center in New York, researchers claimed.

“Simple regulatory changes and lifting of barriers, such as the utilization of electronic prescriptions, can make significant changes to practice patterns and may change the way patients are treated,” the authors wrote in a study published recently by the Academy Emergency Medicine journal.

The study compared the changes in opioid and benzodiazepine prescriptions before and after the New York State implemented the “Official Prescription Program,” which was designed to reduce the amount of drugs diverted from legitimate medical use by preventing alterations, forgeries and counterfeiting of prescriptions.

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Stakeholders await final DEA rule to lift E-prescription ban for controlled substances

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The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) unveiled last year proposed regulations that would provide physicians and authorized prescribers with the option of issuing electronic prescriptions for controlled substances.

The agency had sought public comment on DEA’s draft rule #1117-AA61, titled “Electronic Prescriptions for Controlled Substances.” One year later, stakeholders are still waiting for DEA’s final decision to lift the e-prescribing moratorium on controlled substances.

In one of the recent developments, a bi-partisan group of senators has sent a letter in May to Attorney General Eric Holder and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius asking for a final resolution on the proposal.

The 11 senators, who signed the letter, said, “E-prescribing is held back by the DEA,” which requires a parallel paper system for scheduled pharmaceuticals. “Obviously, having to run two systems compromises any savings from e-prescribing,” they wrote.

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