ALEXANDRIA, Va. & CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 20, 2004--SureScripts announced an agreement today with Allscripts Healthcare Solutions (Nasdaq: MDRX) to electronically connect Allscripts physician clients to SureScripts' growing national electronic pharmacy network. Through this partnership, SureScripts and Allscripts will improve the prescribing process by allowing computer-to-computer electronic exchange of new prescription and renewal authorization information between physicians and pharmacists, improving the efficiency, safety and convenience of the process.
Under the agreement, thousands of physicians who use Allscripts electronic prescribing solutions - the TouchWorks(TM) Electronic Medical Record (EMR) and the recently-announced TouchScript.NET(TM) e-prescribing application - will be able to transmit prescriptions via SureScripts' secure national electronic network to the pharmacies of their patients' choice.
With strong support from the pharmacy industry, SureScripts is improving the prescribing process by creating the largest electronic prescription network and building grassroots support for its acceptance. Today over fifty percent of the nation's chain and independent community pharmacies have completed the certification process required to connect to its network for electronic prescription communications and are at various stages of making the capability available at their pharmacies. That number is expected to increase to 75% by summer.
"Many physicians have indicated strong interest in communicating prescription information electronically with pharmacists, both new prescriptions and refill authorizations, as an important first step toward harnessing technology to improve the quality of healthcare," said Kevin Hutchinson, President and Chief Executive Officer of SureScripts.
"Allscripts Healthcare Solutions has demonstrated leadership in clinical automation by providing a path that allows physicians to begin automating their most common clinical functions, like electronic prescribing, and build to a full electronic medical record," Hutchinson stated.
By the end of 2004, SureScripts' electronic network is expected to be active in two dozen states. Although there is already significant overlap between active pharmacies and physicians using Allscripts e-prescribing solutions, SureScripts and pharmacies connected to its network are committed to working closely with Allscripts to expand into additional markets.
"Allscripts is excited to lead the effort with SureScripts to provide our clients with the most sophisticated electronic connectivity available to pharmacists today and to improve the healthcare process," commented Glen Tullman, Chief Executive Officer of Allscripts Healthcare Solutions. "While the e-prescribing functions of the TouchWorks EMR and the TouchScript.NET solutions increase the safety and quality of the prescription medication process, transmission of electronic prescriptions through the SureScripts network is the next logical improvement."
Allscripts recently announced the availability of the .NET edition of TouchScript(TM) - the first module of a complete EMR companion to Microsoft Office 2003 - with additional modules scheduled for release later this year. The familiarity of Microsoft Office combined with powerful clinical modules from Allscripts will help accelerate the use of technology in the care process by physicians. This new application, usable in an on-line or off-line mode, will be easily downloadable and will be available bundled with a variety of HP PCs. Physicians will be able to implement e-prescribing in their practices cost-effectively in a matter of minutes.
Electronic prescribing also brings efficiency to the highly inefficient process of placing phone calls to clarify handwritten prescriptions and formulary options. Of the more than 3 billion prescriptions filled annually in the United States, an estimated 30 percent require a time-consuming call back from the pharmacist to the physician. At seven to eight minutes per call, that equals to $800 million dollars per year or 8,000 full time employees for calls to clarify information. This time could be better used for counseling and monitoring of drug therapy.
An increasing number of health advocacy organizations are urging the medical community to eliminate handwritten prescriptions and switch to electronic prescribing. Electronic prescribing and electronic medical records are widely regarded as the most promising solutions to the problem of medical errors, which has received a great deal of attention in recent years. According to the Institute of Medicine, medication errors alone cause over 7,000 deaths every year. These errors could be significantly reduced with EMRs that include electronic prescribing.
About SureScripts
With strong support from the pharmacy industry, SureScripts is improving the prescribing process by creating a neutral national electronic prescribing network and by building grassroots support for the acceptance of electronic prescribing. Through its certification process SureScripts establishes ground rules that safeguard the fairness of the prescribing process. For more information see www.surescripts.com.
About Allscripts Healthcare Solutions
Allscripts Healthcare Solutions (AHS) is the leading provider of clinical software, connectivity and information solutions for physicians. The Company's TouchWorks software is a modular Electronic Medical Record (EMR) that enhances physician productivity by automating the most common physician activities including prescribing, dictating, capturing charges, ordering labs and viewing results, providing patient education, and documenting clinical encounters. TouchWorks is available on the latest Tablet PCs, wireless handheld devices, desktop workstations and over the Internet. AHS also offers electronic document imaging and scanning solutions through its Advanced Imaging Concepts (AIC) subsidiary. Additionally, AHS provides healthcare product education and market research programs for physicians through its Physicians Interactive(TM) unit and medication fulfillment services through its Allscripts Direct(TM) unit. Visit AHS on the Web at www.allscripts.com.
Strategic partners include IDX Systems (Nasdaq: IDXC); IMS Health (NYSE: RX); Microsoft; Hewlett-Packard Company; and Medco Health.
This announcement may contain forward-looking statements about Allscripts Healthcare Solutions that involve risks and uncertainties. These statements are developed by combining currently available information with Allscripts beliefs and assumptions. Forward-looking statements do not guarantee future performance. Because Allscripts cannot predict all of the risks and uncertainties that may affect it, or control the ones it does predict, Allscripts' actual results may be materially different from the results expressed in its forward-looking statements. For a more complete discussion of the risks, uncertainties and assumptions that may affect Allscripts, see the Company's 2003 Annual Report on Form 10-K, available through the Web site maintained by the Securities and Exchange Commission at www.sec.gov.
Contacts
SureScripts Contact: Tammy Lewis, 914-400-4376 tammy.lewis@surescripts.com or
Allscripts Healthcare Solutions Contact: Dan Michelson, 847-680-3515, Ext. 4330 dan.michelson@allscripts.com