Dean Riggott Photography
Surescripts
2020 was a challenging, and for many, devastating year. From losing loved ones to the transformation of entire industries, the pandemic has changed our lives permanently. But with those negative impacts, there have been silver linings that we should recognize.
The Surescripts 2020 National Progress Report captures how the healthcare industry successfully navigated this disruption with collaboration and innovation.
As a result, interactions between care providers and patients changed for the better, even in the face of COVID-19. Here are some numbers that highlight the significant progress achieved across the Surescripts Network Alliance in 2020.
Explore the Surescripts 2020 National Progress Report
In a year that changed nearly everything, U.S. healthcare made inspiring progress.
E-Prescribing adoption exceeded one million prescribers for the first time
Many prescribers provided care virtually in 2020, which may have contributed to the 63,000 additional prescribers who adopted e-prescribing last year. Collectively, 1.04 million prescribers used the Surescripts network to process nearly 2 billion electronic prescriptions. These prescribers have now joined virtually all pharmacies in making this solution a part of their everyday workflow.
Nearly a half-million providers used Real-Time Prescription Benefit for price transparency
As concerns about prescription costs rose, providers ramped up their adoption and utilization of innovative tools for price transparency. The number of prescribers who adopted Real-Time Prescription Benefit increased by 75% over 2019, resulting in more 413,000 prescribers using the service to perform nearly 240 million benefit checks at the point of prescribing.
Health systems sent roughly 6 million COVID-19 case reports via Clinical Direct Messaging
The need for standards-based interoperability tools shone brighter than ever as healthcare organizations and public health agencies strove to share information and coordinate a response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2020, Clinical Direct Messaging was used to quickly and securely transmit electronic case reports for COVID-19 diagnoses to public health agencies for review and action.
The number of prescribers enabled for Specialty Patient Enrollment jumped by 214%
Specialty medications require a unique and time-consuming process that can delay time to therapy by up to two weeks, according to nearly 40% of providers. By adopting technologies like Specialty Patient Enrollment, the Surescripts Network Alliance worked to automate the specialty prescribing and fulfillment process and reduce time to therapy in 2020.
As we look back at 2020, it will be necessary to remember both the good and bad – and that we lived through this moment in history together. Download the Surescripts 2020 National Progress Report to explore more data and how we improved patient safety, saved time, lowered costs and enabled higher-quality care across the nation.
