The Need for Embedded Decision Support Functionality
According to a recent RxRevu survey, 88% of outpatient providers want medication pricing information available in their prescribing workflow. However, only 10% trust the medication information currently displayed in the EHR. Providers have historically only had access to obsolete patient information when ordering medications, and become frustrated when orders need to be resent due to cost or coverage restrictions they were not aware of.
With patient and provider satisfaction at stake, health systems are beginning to demand EHRs display accurate coverage information to alleviate prescribing frustrations and reduce downstream administrative work.
What is Real-Time Prescription Benefit and What do EHR Vendors Need to Know?
Real-Time Prescription Benefit (RTPB) solutions bring patient coverage information to electronic prescribing workflows, allowing providers to have informed conversations about the cost of medications – before patients reach the pharmacy. RTPB takes into consideration a patient’s health plan information to display covered, cost-effective medication options at the point-of-care.
When an EHR vendor selects an RTPB solution to integrate into their product, they need to consider the scope of the data being delivered, since most solutions do not display pricing information for all patients. Therefore, it is necessary to configure multiple RTPB data feeds in the EHR for the most seamless user experience. Having only one connection leads to gaps in data and reliance on one vendor to supply complete coverage – which does not exist in today’s fragmented market. RxRevu, for example, is connected to and delivers medication information from a number of pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), while other RTPB vendors might have different PBM connections – and therefore provide data on different patients.
In addition to the scope of the dataset, the accuracy of the data is important to consider, since inaccurate cost estimates create a poor experience for patients and providers. Some RTPB solutions display accurate, real-time medication costs based on each patient’s health plan, while others aggregate pricing and offer vague estimates. Displaying a price estimate of $30 – when a patient must pay $60 at the pharmacy – might be the difference between them picking up the medication or abandoning it altogether. RxRevu research shows that a lack of trustworthy data at the point-of-care causes unnecessary administrative work, prevents informed prescribing, and increases prescription abandonment.
What is the Solution?
Although RxRevu does not have coverage data on every American, our solution is often turned on alongside other RTPB vendor offerings. By maximizing the number of data sources, our EHR partners create a seamless experience for providers and patients, and reduce their reliance on previously integrated, non-RTPB specific tools.
One might think turning on Real-Time Prescription Benefit would be a heavy lift for EHR vendors, but RxRevu has made it simple, with dedicated support through the testing and configuration process. And since data is displayed within the prescribing workflow, there is no additional software and little-to-no user training needed. RxRevu has focused its efforts on developing the most accurate and easily integrated RTPB solution in the market. With direct connections to the nation’s largest PBMs, we deliver vast, patient-specific coverage information in real-time – with an extremely low error rate (>6%). RxRevu’s RTPB solution is also integrated into standard prescribing workflows, allowing physicians to see actionable, cost-saving information with no additional clicks.
Nowadays, EHR vendors must provide differentiated services and tools to support their user-base. Integrating RxRevu’s RTPB service can create a better user experience, allow for hassle-free prescribing, and reduce administrative work. To learn more about turning on RxRevu’s price transparency solution within your EHR, reach out today.
