What is ePrescribe?

ePrescribe refers to the use of a secure computer network so that providers, pharmacies, pharmacy benefit managers and health plans can share patient prescription information.

As a decision-support tool, ePrescribe lets providers access an individual patient’s medication history, see the particulars of the patient’s prescription insurance coverage, and review details about the medication of choice – all in order to make more informed choices about patient care. When BCBSNC uses the term ePrescribe, it encompasses the ability to perform all of the following:

• See the individual patient’s active and past prescriptions, detailing indication, dosage and frequency, including medications prescribed by other physicians
• See patient allergy information and drug-reaction history

• See the patient’s insurance plan formulary, including tiered medications
• Know which medications will be covered and at what cost to the patient
• See any preauthorization requirements and, in some applications, complete the process

• View warnings, alerts or cautions related to the specific medication and/or the patient’s medication history
• View multiple medication options to avoid potential cross-drug or other harmful reactions
• See indication, dosage and administration information

• Send the prescription electronically, directly from the point of care
• Communicate directly with the pharmacy’s ePrescribe computer application
• Eliminate paper, phone and fax from the process

• Receive refill authorizations directly from the pharmacy to your computer or handheld device
• See refill requests at once via the refill queue in your ePrescribe application
• Approve or deny refills in seconds with just a few mouse clicks

ePrescribe is not just a Fax

Many prescribers who use electronic medical record (EMR) systems think they are ePrescribing because they use their computers to route a prescription to the pharmacy’s fax machine.

What’s the difference? Computer-generated faxing that does not involve the ePrescribe network (patient medication history, insurance plan information, medication details, etc.) does not qualify as ePrescribing. Even though you are using a computer, you are communicating only with the pharmacy’s fax machine, not with the ePrescribe network or the pharmacy’s ePrescribe system.

Prescriptions that are generated within the ePrescribe application and then printed or faxed qualify as electronic prescriptions. Accessing the patient’s prescription and/or insurance information via the ePrescribe application is an important part of the process.