Surescripts Continues to Expand Electronic Prior Authorization Solution through Agreement with DrFirst; CompletEPA® Now Available to 200,000 Prescribers through 300 EHR Vendors

ARLINGTON, Va. – October 10, 2014 – Surescripts, the nation’s largest health information network, has continued to expand the reach of its electronic prior authorization (ePA) solution to include DrFirst, a leading provider of healthcare IT and medication management solutions. With the addition of DrFirst, over 300 of their electronic health records (EHR) and electronic medical records (EMR) vendors and hospital information system (HIS) partners will have access to CompletEPA®.  As a result of significant growth this year, Surescripts CompletEPA is now accessible to more than 200,000 prescribers nationwide.

“Prior authorization has been a pain point for prescribers for years, but with the move to an electronic process, we’re able to connect disparate systems and deliver immediate time and cost savings for prescribers and pharmacies,” said David Yakimischak, Executive Vice President and General Manager of Medication Network Services at Surescripts.  “Our ePA solution is clearly meeting a critical need and adding real value, as the demand we’re seeing in the marketplace is unprecedented.”

Electronic prior authorization replaces an important yet inefficient process that relies on forms, faxes, phone calls and portals to collect information, process prescriber requests, and review prescription coverage.  EHR vendors who integrate Surescripts CompletEPA make it simple for their users by decreasing the administrative burden of prior authorizations.

DrFirst will make the Surescripts CompletEPA service available to its EMR, EHR and HIS system partners, as well as to users of its Rcopia® and RcopiaMU℠ stand-alone systems.  DrFirst’s “Patient Advisor ePA” service is fully integrated within the e-prescribing workflows of providers and offers a comprehensive selection of ePA sources available to EHR and HIS system vendors.

”CompletEPA’s fully electronic workflows are important to simplifying the prior authorization process for DrFirst’s 300 EHR vendors and their physician customers,” said G. Cameron Deemer, President of DrFirst.  “By working together with Surescripts, we are giving providers the tools they need to focus on patient care instead of administrative tasks.”

Integrated within the EHR workflow, CompletEPA proactively informs prescribers of medications requiring prior authorization and in some instances the approval status is known before the patient leaves the office.  This real-time data exchange directly with health plans allows CompletEPA to pre-populate patient information based on pharmacy benefit plans, improving accuracy and drastically speeding up the communication process to provide quick, cost effective access to care and increase customer satisfaction.