Netsmart Technologies' InfoScriber(TM) e-Prescribing Service Receives Additional Surescripts® Certifications
Electronic Prescribing System for Behavioral Health Now Certified on Additional Medication Management Functionality
GREAT RIVER, N.Y., Sept. 22 - Netsmart Technologies, Inc., a leading provider of enterprise-wide software and services for health and human services organizations, today announced that its InfoScriber(TM) Web-based prescribing and medication management system for behavioral health provider organizations was awarded additional certifications from Surescripts®.
Surescripts operates the nation's largest e-prescription network and supports a rapidly expanding ecosystem of health care organizations nationwide. With the additional Surescripts certifications, Netsmart's InfoScriber service has added functionality critical to medication management. The new certifications include eligibility checking, formulary checking and requesting external medication histories from pharmacy benefit managers.
More than 9.1 million prescriptions have been generated from InfoScriber over the past 10 years, including 2.8 million last year alone. InfoScriber is used by more than 245 hospitals, healthcare facilities and physician practices, and can be used anywhere through an Internet Explorer® browser.
The additional certifications build upon the InfoScriber service's current Surescripts certifications, which include sending new prescriptions electronically, electronically receiving and responding to requests for prescription renewals and requesting external medication histories from community pharmacies.
The added certifications allow customers of the InfoScriber service to save time and money, while improving safety and quality of care. Using electronic connections with the majority of pharmacies in their area through the Surescripts network, behavioral health providers can request information or send prescriptions electronically to a consumer's pharmacy of choice before the consumer leaves the provider's office. This electronic process eliminates the possibility of misplaced paper prescriptions and the time delays that occur when the pharmacy calls the physician's office to verify unreadable prescriptions. When refills are needed, the pharmacy can send the request to the provider's office electronically, eliminating the need for time-consuming phone calls and faxes, and reducing potential prescription errors due to misread handwriting.
"Certification from Surescripts represents an important validation of what our InfoScriber service offers as a behavioral health-specific e-prescribing solution," said James L. Conway, chief executive officer, Netsmart Technologies. "Additionally, the InfoScriber service provides the electronic prescribing capabilities needed to help providers qualify for Medicaid and Medicare incentive funds for the Meaningful Use of an electronic health record (EHR)."
InfoScriber, when combined with Netsmart's electronic health record, consumer Web portal and health information exchange solutions, gives providers the tools they need to develop the processes to meet Meaningful Use criteria and eliminates the need to integrate products from multiple vendors for that purpose.
Designed for the unique requirements of behavioral health, InfoScriber provides electronic prescribing and medication management especially for the severely mentally ill (SMI) population. InfoScriber features a variety of medication management functions, including reporting capabilities and tools that help monitor polypharmacy and reduce medication interaction risks. In addition, medication consent forms and medication education brochures are provided within the application.
InfoScriber offers numerous benefits to users, including enhanced patient safety, increased physician productivity, reduced pharmacy call backs, reduced risk of illegible prescriptions, detailed reporting tools, improved care team communications, and security and confidentiality standards. InfoScriber complies with Security and Administration Standards and Regulations as well as HIPAA standards, and is designed to help organizations comply with HCFA regulations and provide documentation for meeting Joint Commission and other standards.
About Netsmart Technologies, Inc.
Netsmart Technologies is an established, leading supplier of enterprise software and software as a service (SaaS) solutions for health and human services providers. More than 18,000 customer organizations, including 350,000 care providers and 40 state systems, use Netsmart products to help improve the quality of life for millions of people each year.
Netsmart customers include mental health and substance abuse treatment agencies, psychiatric hospitals, private and group mental health practices, public health departments, vital records offices and managed care organizations. Netsmart's products are full-featured information systems that operate on a variety of operating systems, hardware platforms, and mobile devices, and offer unlimited scalability.
Netsmart provides expertise and solutions that help its customers meet all the criteria for "meaningful use" of an Electronic Health Record (EHR) under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009. These include experience in electronic health record certification, the InfoScriber(TM) e-prescribing service, the Netsmart CareConnect(TM) service that enables the sharing of clinical information through health information exchanges, the Netsmart ConsumerConnect(TM) Web portal to provide consumer access to their care information, and a flexible platform to capture and share outcomes data. Netsmart customers can utilize Netsmart solutions to meet all Stage 1 Meaningful Use criteria, avoiding the costly and time-consuming process of integrating solutions from multiple vendors.
Netsmart's Connected Care initiative allows behavioral and public healthcare providers to share clinical data electronically within their internal processes, externally with other providers, and with consumers via a Web-based portal, enabling high quality, consumer-directed care.
For information about Netsmart Technologies' full range of solutions for health and human services organizations, visit www.ntst.com or call 1-800-472-5509.
SOURCE Netsmart Technologies, Inc.
CONTACT:
Dave Kishler,
Netsmart Technologies,
+1-614-764-0143, Ext. 7252,
dkishler@ntst.com
Web Site: www.ntst.com
