ALEXANDRIA, Va. and ST. PAUL, Minn. – March 10, 2009 – SureScripts-RxHub, which operates the country's largest national electronic prescribing network, today announced that the company will henceforth be known as Surescripts®. To mark the occasion, the new Surescripts has launched The E-Prescribing Resource Center (www.surescripts.com), where doctors, pharmacists, payers, hospitals, policymakers and software vendors can go to find the latest information and advice about e-prescribing. Resources featured on the new Web site include:
Who’s Connected – Enter your ZIP code to find out which physicians and pharmacies e-prescribe in your community and view a full list of the payers, pharmacy benefit managers and pharmacies connected to the Surescripts network.
Certification Status – Check a software vendor’s status and gauge its product’s support for e-prescribing.
E-Prescribing Statistics & Rankings – See the latest state and national data that tracks e-prescribing growth and read about progress at both levels, including Surescripts’ annual ranking of states.
How to Get Connected – View step-by-step guides on how to establish a connection to the Surescripts network whether you are a technology vendor, physician, payer or pharmacy.
Best Practices – For those physicians, pharmacists, pharmacy benefit managers and payers already e-prescribing, Surescripts provides education on how e-prescribing works, tips on how to solve problems and guidance on how to get the most out of your e-prescribing investment.
Policy Updates – Surescripts’ experts share their views and offer background on important policy developments.
News & Events – Read about important announcements related to e-prescribing, and sign up to receive regular updates on important news and events from across the industry.
Also highlighted throughout the site are Surescripts’ re-branded services. What were once presented as seven discrete services are now three, reflecting the three steps that define e-prescribing: Prescription Benefit, Prescription History and Prescription Routing. Consistent with the promise of the merger between SureScripts and RxHub, the change is part of a larger effort aimed at simplifying e-prescribing for physicians, payers, pharmacies, technology vendors and the market at large. That same principle carries over to the network upon which those services are offered – now known as the Surescripts network. To see a demonstration of how the Surescripts network and services enable e-prescribing, please visit www.surescripts.com
and click on “How Electronic Prescribing Works.”
“When it comes to e-prescribing, we are in a very unique position,” said Rob Cronin, spokesperson for Surescripts. “We are right in the middle of it all, enabling e-prescribing every second of every day in communities throughout the country. That gives us a perspective and understanding that not only is unique, but obligates us to share our deep knowledge of e-prescribing in the most effective and efficient way we know. So, in addition to operating a nationwide network, testing and certifying software, and connecting all the players that make
e-prescribing possible, the new Surescripts will feature The E-Prescribing Resource Center as another critical part of what we do.”
Surescripts is the result of a 2008 merger between the country’s two leading health information networks: RxHub and SureScripts. RxHub was founded in 2001 by the nation’s three largest PBMs – CVS Caremark Corporation, Express Scripts, Inc. and Medco Health Solutions, Inc. SureScripts was also formed in 2001 by the National Association of Chain Drug Stores (NACDS) and the National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA). Both were created with the same goal in mind – to reduce the cost and improve the safety and efficiency of a process relied on by millions of patients every day.
In 2008, the U.S. saw twofold growth in e-prescribing adoption and use. This continues the trend of the last three years. A review of 2006-2008 operational data from SureScripts and RxHub indicates that electronic requests for prescription information, the responses to those requests and the number of prescriptions routed electronically totaled nearly half a billion. (Note: More detailed data will be made available in the soon-to-be-released 2008 National Progress Report on E-Prescribing. Visit www.surescripts.com/report for more information.)
As Medicare incentives, federal stimulus funding, and new state and federal adoption initiatives take hold, the momentum behind e-prescribing is only expected to grow. However, there is a demonstrated need to support that growth with access to unbiased information and advice that allows users to realize the full benefit of the technology.
In the weeks and months to come, visitors to www.surescripts.com can expect to see many updates to The E-Prescribing Resource Center, including more frequent releases of state and national e-prescribing statistics and online communities for physicians and pharmacists.
About Surescripts
Surescripts is the result of a 2008 merger between the country’s two leading health information networks: RxHub and SureScripts. Surescripts gives healthcare providers secure, electronic access to prescription information that can save their patients’ lives, improve efficiency and reduce the cost of healthcare for all. Available during emergencies or routine care, the Surescripts network is used every day by thousands of physicians, physician assistants, nurse practitioners and other prescribers across all 50 states. The Surescripts network connects these prescribers to all of the nation’s major chain pharmacies, the nation’s leading payers and independent pharmacies nationwide. For more information, go to www.surescripts.com.