E-Prescribing: Get onboard or get out

With more physicians and health systems transitioning to electronic medical records (EMRs), there's a growing need for HME providers to close the paperless gap through e-prescribing. Most providers know about it, but only about one-quarter have implemented it, says Roxie Murray of Jaysec, who will participate in a panel discussion on the topic at Medtrade Spring. Here's a preview:

HME News: What misconceptions do you see among HME providers about e-prescribing?

Roxie Murray: A lot of them think, my doctor's office is already paperless and they use an EMR. Well, e-prescribing completes the paperless process where a lot of EMRs are not addressing all of the additional documentation needed by HME providers.

HME: What obstacles might a provider encounter as they move toward e-prescribing?

Murray: The first obstacle is getting the staff onboard. It takes both your customer service and billing people, and your sales and marketers. Your marketers can go out there and tell a referral source they're going to make their lives easier, that they have this new software that will eliminate the CMN. The doctor's office gets excited, but then your customer service starts faxing them over.

HME: What do referral sources think of this?

Murray: Quite a few of our customers say they have referral sources that mandate them. If they aren't on board with e-prescribing, then they're not getting any more orders. On the other side, some companies are seeing referral sources they've never seen before.

HME: Are there other benefits HME providers can expect?

Murray: They can expect to see a decrease in DSO. Doing it the old way was up to 180 days. With e-prescribing the average is 1.5 days to get a CMN back. Plus, your sales and marketing people are out there focusing on sales rather than shuffling paper.