University Physicians at Stony Brook Improving Quality of Patient Care and Safety with ePrescription
PatientKeeper Charge Capture Client Expands with ePrescription Application
STONY BROOK, NY - June 14, 2005 - University Physicians at Stony Brook (UPSB), the coordinating entity for a faculty practice of 500 physicians in Stony Brook, New York, is implementing PatientKeeper ePrescription™ (Powered by DrFirst) on behalf of its Practices as part of a mobile healthcare initiative to improve quality of care and patient safety. UPSB doctors are already using PatientKeeper Charge Capture™ to streamline the charge capture and billing processes. Electronic charge capture is a major advance over a paper system in recording the services and procedures the physicians provide to their patients.
ePrescribing has been identified as an IT investment that improves the quality of patient care and reduces medication errors, according to the federal government's healthcare IT coordinator, David J. Brailer, M.D., Ph.D. The ability for a physician to electronically submit a prescription directly to a pharmacy is also endorsed by National Association of Chain Drug Stores (NACDS) as a technology that will improve the safety and efficiency of drug prescribing as well as the quality of medication decisions.
The 500 providers of University Physicians practice in 18 separate specialty groups that provide a range of medical services from primary care to the most advanced specialty care for patients of all ages.
"Physicians today have to look at the most efficient ways to practice and using new technology can be an important part of that," said Ellen Dank Cohen, executive director of UPSB. "ePrescription should make prescription writing easier for doctors while reducing chances of error caused by misread written instructions."
Doctors will use the mobile software platform for wireless access to the hospital's patient information system. ePrescription provides physicians with an electronic prescription tool at the point of care, managing the entire prescription process from start to finish. Physicians can enter prescription orders, check patients' medication histories, and review formularies from anywhere, at any time, including in the hospital, in the office, and points in between. ePrescription creates, modifies, saves, prints, and faxes or electronically transfers prescriptions directly and securely to the pharmacy. In addition, the software warns doctors of possible allergic or drug-drug interactions.
Charge Capture automates the billing process that typically relies on individual billing cards. Instead of jotting information on cards, doctors use the system to simply check off customizable diagnosis codes and services right on their handheld devices. An accurate record of services provided is recorded and added to the patient record. Charge Capture provides two layers of rule-checking, ensuring complete, accurate bills; support for both inpatient and outpatient workflows; support for PDAs, tablets, and desktops; browser-based reporting and management tools for the billing staff; and tight integration with existing billing systems.
About PatientKeeper
PatientKeeper®, Inc. provides healthcare professionals with mobile computing solutions that deliver clinical and financial benefits. The PatientKeeper Platform™ easily integrates with existing information systems. PatientKeeper and its partners have created a portfolio of applications that allow doctors to interactively manage patient information, view clinical results, enter charges, dictate notes, write prescriptions, access medical references, and more. For more information, visit www.patientkeeper.com or call 617-987-0300.
Contact
Stephen S. Hau
PatientKeeper
(617) 987-0304
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