SAN ANTONIO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Office Ally announced today the introduction of an e-prescribing module designed to make electronic prescribing easy and safe while enhancing patient care. In bringing this new product to market, Office Ally is partnering with Surescripts to link with over 93 percent of U.S. pharmacies.
“Electronic prescribing is becoming increasingly important as the healthcare industry looks to become both more efficient and more consumer focused,” said Brian O’Neill, President and CEO of Office Ally. “This new service will do both by allowing for seamless connections for electronic submissions and renewal requests between prescribers and pharmacies.”
The new product, OA-Rx, will be integrated as a free “add on” into two of Office Ally’s most highly sought-after products – its Practice Mate™ practice management software and its EHR 24/7™ electronic medical records application. While providers are not required to use EHR 24/7 to access OA-Rx, O’Neill points out that “integrating the products in this manner is just one more step in helping providers truly automate their offices in ways that positively contribute to better care while allowing them to spend more time with their patients.”
O’Neill says that patient care will be enhanced – and medical errors reduced – as prescribers using OA-Rx will receive automated interaction alerts for drug-to-drug, drug-to-disease and drug-to-allergy interactions as well as clinically relevant cautionary information. In many cases OA-Rx will also provide the patient with informative guides for the drugs prescribed and/or money saving coupons.
In addition, prescribers will be able to view prescription benefits and formulary information, automatically build commonly used pharmacy lists and medication history for each patient, and access various reports for easier record keeping and tracking. All of this, O’Neill says, will lead to a “better and safer patient experience.” It is also anticipated that OA-Rx will increase providers’ HEDIS scores resulting in larger reimbursements.
As an added benefit for convenience, timeliness and access, O’Neill says that a mobile app for OA-Rx is currently in development and that providers will be able to prescribe through their mobile phones in a future release.
OA-Rx is immediately available in 49 states based on its certification by Surescripts earlier this summer as well as approval from those states that require local consent from their own Board of Pharmacy. Office Ally is currently working with the Ohio Board of Pharmacy to get approval in that state. OA-Rx meets the Meaningful Use requirements and is included in the Certified EHR 27/7 2014 Edition and has been certified by an ONC-ACB in accordance with the applicable certification criteria adopted by the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
This latest product launch from Office Ally comes on the heels of an announcement last month that more than 100 healthcare labs nationwide have been connected to its electronic health records solution EHR 24/7. Similar to having easy access to a patient’s medication history through OA-Rx, Office Ally’s lab interfaces contribute greatly to maximizing the benefits of electronic health records and enhanced patient care by having this important part of a patient’s medical history readily available in a private, secure and accessible location.
Office Ally is the only organization in the country offering healthcare providers a full suite of revenue-cycle management services. Founded in 2000 Office Ally currently works with more than 330,000 providers and 5,600 insurance carriers in all 50 states. It also houses eligibility for nearly 400 IPAs and small health plans. Its complete suite of interactive ASP Internet-based solutions include a patient health registry – Patient Ally™, electronic health records – EHR 24/7™, practice management – Practice Mate™, clearinghouse and case-connect tool. All of Office Ally’s products and services are offered at minimal or no cost to providers, with customer and technical support available 24/7. Further information may be obtained at www.officeally.com.
