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Surescripts
Enable efficient prescriber and pharmacist collaboration
Get patients the medications they need sooner by integrating accurate, consistently formatted prescription data into existing software. Leverage the nation’s largest and most active e-prescribing network, connecting virtually all electronic health records (EHRs), health systems, pharmacies, health information exchanges and long-term and post-acute care facilities.
In-workflow tools help pharmacists and prescribers collaborate efficiently using NCPDP-defined transactions, including NewRx, RxFill, RxChange, RxTransfer, RxRenewal, NewRxRequest and CancelRx. Tap into industry-leading patient matching, automation that intelligently structures prescription data, and other innovations built to help improve medication adherence and patient safety.
2.5 billion
e-prescriptions filled in 2023, including 21 million specialty prescriptions1
93%
of discontinued medications successfully canceled at the pharmacy after implementing CancelRx2
34.6 million
RxChange transactions in 2023, enabling pharmacist/prescriber collaboration1
What can E-Prescribing do for you?
Choose your organization type to see how E-Prescribing can help you access trusted patient and prescription data via a network designed for seamless collaboration at scale.
Manage prescriptions safely, securely & efficiently
Add E-Prescribing to your EHR to improve prescription speed, safety and accuracy for an exceptional care experience. Streamline collaboration with pharmacists and get patients started on the right medication and the path to adherence sooner.
Keep providers inside your EHR
Automate key transactions, streamline prescriber/pharmacist communication and build the foundation for additional functionality such as medication cost insights.
Optimize prescribing
Eliminate the need for paper and let your users collaborate with pharmacists within the same prescription workflow.
Improve patient safety
Reduce the potential for prescription errors, abandonment, fraud and other safety issues by sending prescriptions via the highly secure and powerful Surescripts network.
Expand your reach
Connect to virtually all U.S. pharmacies with verified, accurate contact information.
How it works for EHR vendors
A prescriber writes a prescription and sends it from within your E-Prescribing module.
Formatted with standards built for clarity and safety, the prescription is routed to the patient’s preferred pharmacy.
The prescriber handles any requests to change or clarify the prescription within your EHR.
RxChange lets prescribers review and quickly respond to questions and recommendations from the pharmacy.
The patient picks up the prescription, and the prescriber is notified.
The RxFill transaction provides certainty that the patient has picked up their medication.
The provider receives renewal or new prescription requests.
When a pharmacy sends a renewal or new prescription request on behalf of the patient, it’s easy to approve in the EHR.
When the medication is no longer needed, the prescriber can cancel it electronically.
CancelRx tells the pharmacy to discontinue prescriptions or refills that the patient no longer needs.
Manage prescriptions safely, securely & efficiently
Put patients at the center of care and get them the medications they need faster. Add E-Prescribing to your EHR to streamline collaboration with pharmacists and improve prescription speed, safety and accuracy for an exceptional care experience.
Optimize prescribing
Eliminate the need for paper, phone calls and faxes by managing and updating all prescriptions within the same workflow.
Increase first-fill medication adherence
Get patients on medication—and keep them taking it as prescribed. When E-Prescribing is combined with Eligibility & Formulary, first-fill medication adherence increases by 20%.3
Improve patient safety
Reduce the potential for prescription errors, abandonment, fraud and other safety issues by sending prescriptions via the highly secure and powerful Surescripts network.
Streamline communication with pharmacists
Use CancelRx to ensure discontinued prescriptions aren’t filled, and implement RxChange to quickly respond to recommendations from the pharmacy.
How it works for health systems
A prescriber writes a prescription and sends it from within your EHR.
Formatted with standards built for clarity and safety, the prescription is routed to the patient’s preferred pharmacy.
The prescriber handles questions or clarifications from pharmacists in the same workflow.
RxChange lets prescribers review and quickly respond to questions and recommendations from the pharmacy.
The patient picks up the prescription, and the prescriber is notified.
The RxFill transaction provides certainty that the patient has picked up their medication.
The provider receives renewal or new prescription requests electronically.
When the pharmacy sends a renewal or new prescription request on behalf of the patient, it’s easy to approve in the EHR.
When the medication is no longer needed, the prescriber can cancel it electronically.
CancelRx tells the pharmacy to discontinue prescriptions or refills that the patient no longer needs.
Enhance prescription accuracy and efficiency
Bring E-Prescribing into long-term and post-acute care workflows to get the right medications to patients faster. Securely communicate across care settings—including skilled nursing facilities, home health, hospice and transitional care—using specialized transactions including Census, Resupply, Recertification and Drug Administration.
Eliminate manual workflows
Replace faxes and phone calls that can delay patient care with swift, secure prescribing.
Improve patient safety
Reduce the potential for prescription fraud and other safety issues by receiving prescriptions via the highly secure and powerful Surescripts network.
Streamline technology needs
Simplify workflows with a single connection to pharmacies nationwide.
Improve efficiency
Integrate e-prescribing seamlessly into existing clinician workflows to save significant time and effort.
How it works for long-term & post-acute care
A provider is preparing to accept a new patient for long-term or post-acute care.
The discharging prescriber sends prescription orders electronically to the care setting via continuity of care document.
A nurse uses the Census transaction to initiate a patient profile at the pharmacy.
This automatically transmits information about the patient’s location, status, demographics and payers to the pharmacy.
When medications change, it’s easy to update the pharmacy.
The care team can initiate new medications using NewRx and stop discontinued ones using CancelRx.
Prescribers receive clarification requests from the pharmacy in their workflow.
Using RxChange, the pharmacy can ask questions and the nurse or prescriber can respond electronically.
RxFill swiftly reconciles prescriptions.
RxFill confirms that prescriptions sent from the EHR are received from the pharmacy, supporting cycle filling.
The nurse communicates ongoing supply and inventory needs electronically.
Providers can use Resupply to request additional inventory and Drug Administration to suspend and resume prescriptions.
Manage prescriptions safely, securely & efficiently
Get clear, electronic prescriptions, reducing the need for phone calls, faxes and interpreting prescriber handwriting. Streamline collaboration with prescribers and get patients started on the right medication—and the path to adherence—sooner.
Optimize operations
Enable safe, more efficient prescription management by standardizing transactions and reducing the need to clarify intent.
Improve patient safety
Reduce the potential for prescription abandonment, fraud and other safety issues by receiving prescriptions via the highly secure and powerful Surescripts network.
Easily collaborate with prescribers
Collaborate on prescriptions within a single workflow, reducing administrative burden and avoiding miscommunication.
Request renewals and changes
Use RxRenewal to request prescription renewals and propose updates such as a therapeutic alternative or change in days’ supply with RxChange.
How it works for pharmacies
Your pharmacy receives an e-prescription that’s clear and easy to fill.
The NewRx transaction leverages sophisticated e-prescription fields that reduce the need for follow-up.
The pharmacist can suggest changes or request clarification in the same workflow.
Use RxChange to alert prescribers about generic substitutions and other alternatives, prior authorization and more.
The patient picks up the prescription, and the prescriber is notified.
Less need for data entry and follow-up means patients get prescriptions sooner. RxFill keeps the prescriber informed.
Easily request a renewal or a new prescription when the patient needs one.
Send an RxRenewal or a NewRxRequest to the prescriber on behalf of the patient.
It’s simple to transfer the prescription at the patient’s request.
If the patient changes pharmacy locations, use RxTransfer to send the prescription to a different pharmacy.
Make prescribing swift, secure and paper-free
Make prescription management more efficient with clear electronic prescriptions that are structured and standardized to reduce time spent clarifying intent. When prescriptions require follow-up, Surescripts E-Prescribing lets pharmacists address the issue within the electronic workflow through transactions like RxChange, RxRenewal and NewRxRequest to streamline collaboration and get medications to patients sooner.
Supply the data pharmacies need
Enable more cost-effective care with clear, safe prescriptions delivered electronically.
Help customers optimize operations
Enable more efficient prescription management with standardized transactions and reducing the need to clarify intent.
Improve patient safety
Reduce the potential for prescription abandonment, fraud and other safety issues by receiving prescriptions via the highly secure and powerful Surescripts network.
Enable easy collaboration with prescribers
Let pharmacies and providers collaborate on prescriptions within a single workflow, reducing administrative burden and avoiding miscommunication.
How it works for pharmacy technology vendors
Your customers receive e-prescriptions that are clear and easy to fill.
The NewRx transaction leverages sophisticated e-prescription fields that reduce the need for follow-up.
The pharmacist can suggest changes or request clarification in the same workflow.
Enable RxChange to alert prescribers about generic substitutions and other alternatives, prior authorization and more.
When the patient picks up the prescription, the prescriber is notified.
Less need for data entry and follow-up means patients get prescriptions sooner. RxFill keeps the prescriber informed.
Make it easy to request a renewal or new prescription when the patient needs one.
Allow pharmacists to send an RxRenewal or NewRxRequest transaction to the prescriber on behalf of the patient.
It’s simple to transfer the prescription at the patient’s request.
If the patient changes pharmacy locations, the pharmacy can use RxTransfer to forward the prescription.
Manage prescriptions safely, securely & efficiently
Streamline specialty prescribing to improve patient safety by standardizing transactions and clarifying the complex patient instructions often needed for these medications. Collaborate efficiently with prescribers and get patients started on the right medication, and the path to adherence, sooner.
Optimize operations
Enable more efficient prescription management by standardizing transactions and reducing the need to clarify intent.
Improve patient safety
Reduce the potential for prescription fraud and other safety issues by receiving prescriptions via the highly secure and powerful Surescripts network.
Easily collaborate with prescribers
Collaborate on prescriptions within a single workflow, reducing administrative burden and avoiding miscommunication.
Request renewals and changes
Use RxRenewal to request prescription renewals and propose updates such as a therapeutic alternative or change in days’ supply with RxChange.
How it works for specialty pharmacies
Your pharmacy receives an e-prescription that’s clear and easy to fill.
The NewRx transaction leverages sophisticated e-prescription fields that reduce the need for follow-up.
The pharmacist can suggest changes or request clarification in the same workflow.
Use RxChange to alert prescribers about therapeutic alternatives, prior authorization and more.
The prescription is dispensed and delivered, and the prescriber is notified.
Less need for data entry and follow-up means patients get prescriptions sooner. RxFill keeps the prescriber informed.
Easily request a renewal or new prescription when the patient needs one.
Send an RxRenewal or NewRxRequest transaction to the prescriber on behalf of the patient.
It’s simple to transfer the prescription at the patient’s request.
If the patient changes pharmacies, use RxTransfer to send the prescription to the new location.
Protect prescriptions during downtime
Our message queue service holds e-prescribing messages in a queue if there is an outage or service interruption that prevents them from being processed by the receiver.
Prevent extra administrative work
With our message queue service, planned or unplanned disruptions don’t trigger manual work. The service holds prescriptions, then sends them in order once the processer’s system is able to receive them.
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No provider, pharmacist or patient disruption
Providers don’t need to send faxes or paper prescriptions, pharmacies don’t need to manually enter lost information, and patients may never need to know about the outage at all.
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New: E-Prescribing for veterinary technology vendors
We’re bringing the benefits of Surescripts E-Prescribing to pets and the people who care for them. See how we're using intelligent prescribing to add extra safety, security and efficiency to veterinary prescriptions.
Real-world results
Find out more about E-Prescribing
What are the most common transaction types within the e-prescribing workflow?
- NewRx: new prescription for a patient
- RxChange: pharmacy request to the prescriber for a change to a new or existing prescription with remaining refills
- RxRenewal Request: pharmacy request for refills of an existing prescription
- RxTransfer: pharmacy request to send the prescription to a different pharmacy location
- RxFill: notification to prescriber on the status of the prescription
- CancelRx: prescriber request to cancel a prescription that has been sent to the pharmacy
- NewRxRequest: pharmacy request for a new prescription on behalf of the patient
What validation does Surescripts perform on inbound e-prescribing messages?
At a minimum, Surescripts will validate:
- Sender identification and password
- Recipient identification
- Contractual agreement to exchange information between sender and recipient
- Syntax of the message, including field lengths, data types, number of repeats and code values
- Compliance with Surescripts business rules
How do you verify e-prescribing of controlled substances?
All e-prescribing applications sending controlled substance prescriptions are required to provide proof that they have successfully completed a third-party audit according to DEA requirements. This proof of successful audit is required before the application is able to send E-Prescribing for Controlled Substances (EPCS) messages across the Surescripts network.
How does Surescripts help ensure that clinicians receive trustworthy prescription data?
Before joining the Surescripts network, all participants must complete a certification process that ensures they are using the most recent transaction standards set by NCPDP.
At the start of the prescribing process, the advanced patient matching technology of our Master Patient Index helps confidently identify the correct patient. Once the prescriber enters a prescription, our automation applies structured and codified standards to preserve the intent of the original prescription, clarify patient instructions and reduce the need for manual intervention. We also validate data elements such as National Drug Code so pharmacies can quickly process prescriptions.
How secure and reliable is the Surescripts network?
The Surescripts network maintains certifications from leading security and privacy organizations including DirectTrust and the Electronic Healthcare Network Accreditation Commission. Strict governance protocols help protect the network from fraudulent activity. Learn more about our commitment to network integrity here.
Our unmatched scale stems from over 20 years of experience connecting prescribers, pharmacies and health plans. That includes proactive planning and alignment around rigorous standards, including guiding the industry through migrations to new NCPDP standards. Today, we maintain 99.995% network uptime while processing 2.5 billion electronic prescriptions a year.4
Is Surescripts working on any e-prescribing innovations?
Always! We focus on innovations that make a meaningful difference for patients and the people who serve them. To ensure that our intelligent prescribing innovations work in the real world, we convene and consult with diverse stakeholders across healthcare in many different ways. We engage the Surescripts Network Alliance® in events and 1:1 discussions designed to unlock higher data quality, simplify workflows, improve patient outcomes and evaluate emerging priorities.
We celebrate customers’ prescription accuracy and performance innovations with the Surescripts White Coat AwardTM. Beyond the Network Alliance, our heritage of industry leadership includes educating governing bodies on the benefits of e-prescribing, helping deploy and evolve the NCPDP SCRIPT standard and advocating around state policy.
How do organizations get connected to Surescripts E-Prescribing?
Surescripts is always expanding its partnerships for E-Prescribing. We guide EHRs, health systems and pharmacies step by step through a proven certification process.
To get the conversation started, click the “Get in touch” button below.
Keep pace with healthcare innovation
- Surescripts, “2023 National Progress Report,” March 2024.
- Taylor L. Watterson et al., “CancelRx Implementation: Observed Changes to Medication Discontinuation Workflows Over Time,” Exploratory Research in Clinical and Social Pharmacy, Volume 5 (January 25, 2022).
- Jaime Y. Smith et al., “E-Prescribing with Decision Support Is Associated with Improvements in Medication Adherence," American Journal of Pharmacy Benefits (July/August 2016).