Physician practices in San Antonio are being offered an electronic prescribing system at no charge thanks to joint initiative between Jacksonville, Fla.-based Availity, LLC and national health insurer Humana, Inc.
Physicians will have access to CarePrescribe from Availity, a free e-prescribing service powered by Prematics, a care-communication company based in Vienna, Va. Prematics will provide all installation, training and ongoing support on behalf of Humana and Availity at no charge to eligible practices.
The e-prescribing service will allow participating physicians to receive incentives from the federal Medicare program through 2013.
CarePrescribe was introduced to Florida last year; due to its success, Humana and Availity extended the service to Texas.
"By putting all the crucial information for patient prescription safety in one easy-to-access system, our members will experience more comprehensive, convenient and personalized care," said Linda Hummel-McAlpin, chief executive officer for Humana's Central and South Texas markets, which include San Antonio. "With the best possible prescription medication guidance available through CarePrescribe, our members will be healthier and happier, avoiding unnecessary or costly medications and unsafe drug interactions."
CarePrescribe will enable physicians to view information designed to help them select the most clinically appropriate and cost effective medications, then transmit prescriptions electronically to a patient's retail or mail-order pharmacies of choice. The service also offers physicians real-time access to patients' medication history, drug and allergy interaction checks and benefit eligibility, formulary and co-payment information.
"Availity is committed to making e-prescribing a success, improving patient care and enhancing overall efficiency in our healthcare delivery system," said Julie Klapstein, Availity's chief executive officer. "We're able to simplify this process for Texas prescribers by delivering a comprehensive, fully managed solution that offers everything they need to start e-prescribing without the costly investment. When combined with Availity's other services, like electronic health records and health insurance information, CarePrescribe provides an improved overall experience for physicians and patients alike."
Eligible San Antonio physicians will also be provided with a portable handheld device that is custom-installed and configured to work with their practice's patient scheduling system. The portable handheld devices work in tandem with a desktop e-prescribing solution, already available to all practices in Texas currently using the Availity Web portal.
Deployment of the handheld device throughout Texas is planned for 2009.
