As the industry makes the move to the National Council for Prescription Drug Programs (NCPDP) SCRIPT Standard v2017071, healthcare organizations are already feeling the benefits of enhanced E-Prescribing and Medication History.
Yisroel Goldberg is a Software Engineer at Henry Schein MicroMD, a provider of electronic medical record (EMR) and practice management solutions. Goldberg and fellow technology developers are no strangers to continuous innovation. And technologists have a unique perspective on why it’s so important to adopt the latest iteration of a given technology. They understand that a migration to a higher standard means an enhanced experience for end users. And it means a higher standard for patient safety, and the cost and quality of American healthcare overall.
“I have been working with Surescripts for many years now and have always found their interface very clear and clean and easy to use.”
Yisroel Goldberg, Software Engineer, Henry Schein MicroMD
I asked Goldberg for the short answer on some key areas of his experience partnering with Surescripts to complete the Henry Schein MicroMD migration to NCPDP SCRIPT Standard v2017071.
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Q: How many people were involved in the project? And how long did the process take?
A: We had a single developer, and it took about three weeks of actual development time. There was additional time spent on going through the test cases for certification. The project spanned about two months.
Q: Why was your SCRIPT migration a priority for your organization?
A: We feel that the enhanced functionality of discrete/multiple sig, will enhance the e-prescribing functionality.
Note: NCPDP SCRIPT Standard v2017071 now allows for 1,000 characters in the sig field for better clarity of prescriber intent.
Q: How did Surescripts support you both leading up to and during your migration?
A: Surescripts assigns a project manager, who is always very helpful. They're available for email questions, as well as scheduling bi-weekly meetings to make sure the project moves along smoothly. In all projects, the project manager has always been helpful, in answering any questions and helping.
Q: What was the biggest challenge that you had to overcome with your SCRIPT migration?
A: Implementing the discrete sig was a bit of a challenge—especially the concept of multiple discrete sigs, as well as verifying the SigText sent is fully built from the discrete.
On September 1, Surescripts will complete the network migration to the National Council for Prescription Drug Programs (NCPDP) SCRIPT Standard v2017071. The latest standard will increase information sharing, reduce administrative burden and ultimately boost patient safety, pharmacy and prescriber efficiency and prescription accuracy through improvements like:
- an expanded patient instructions field for better clarity of prescriber intent, accuracy and safety
- the ability to note important patient information like allergies and preferred language
- the ability to cancel or transfer prescriptions
If you are not set to complete your migration by September 1, 2021, your users will experience E-Prescribing or Medication History service disruptions. But we’re here to help. Visit Surescripts.com/GetSCRIPT to learn more and contact your Surescripts Account Manager today to get an action plan in place.
Dean Riggott Photography
Surescripts
