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Surescripts
Get accurate, up-to-date medication history data
Inadequate medication reconciliation can lead to medication errors and adverse drugs events (ADEs)—particularly during admission. Medication History for Reconciliation delivers real-time, deduplicated medication history information from pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) and pharmacies to the electronic health record (EHR) workflow. Comprehensive data, easy visibility and clearer, more complete patient instructions help highlight adherence concerns and prevent dangerous errors.
2.97 billion
medication histories delivered in 20231
1.1
drugs added per patient that would be missed with manual reconciliation2
47%
of severe medication history errors made at admission potentially preventable with Surescripts3
What can Medication History for Reconciliation do for you?
Choose your organization type to see how Medication History for Reconciliation can support better care decisions, avoid ADEs and reduce unnecessary costs.
Surface complete patient medication histories in your EHR
Give providers easy access to accurate medication history information within your EHR workflow. Save time and help prevent patient safety issues with accurate medication lists, including cash-pay data.
Replace tedious manual searches
Empower clinicians with easy access to pharmacy fill data and PBM claims with a solution that’s efficient, electronic and integrated with your EHR workflow.
Get accurate, up-to-date information
Retrieve records from multiple locations in a standardized, quality-assured format—in real time, via a single connection.
Deliver clearer, more complete Sigs
Sig IQ uses the NCPDP standard and a pharmacist review process to translate free-text directions into a standardized format with the highest-quality, most accurate response.
Improve patient safety
Reduce errors, ADEs and readmissions. Show clinicians 12 months of a patient’s prescription history to help spot adherence concerns and inform new drug therapy decisions.
How it works for EHR vendors
A healthcare provider initiates a Medication History request within your EHR.
Surescripts identifies the correct patient using our comprehensive Master Patient Index and finds their medication records.
Surescripts analyzes data across medications, providers, dispensed days and pharmacies.
Deduplication returns one accurate record of each medication. Augmentation fills gaps via network and third-party data.
Sig IQ helps ensure the Sig is clear and easily understood.
Surescripts translates free-text Sig data into a quality-controlled, standards-based and clinically validated format.
Surescripts compiles a comprehensive medication history file and sends it to your EHR.
You can choose to embed Medication History responses in the patient’s chart, medication history workflow or both.
The provider receives important medication and fill data at the point of care.
With Medication History for Reconciliation in the EHR workflow, medication review becomes safer and more efficient.
Put patient medication history at your fingertips
Give providers easy access to accurate medication history information within your EHR workflow. Save time and help prevent patient safety issues with accurate medication lists, including cash-pay data.
Replace tedious manual searches
Empower clinicians with easy access to pharmacy fill data and PBM claims with a solution that’s efficient, electronic and integrated with your workflow.
Get accurate, up-to-date information
Retrieve records from multiple locations in a standardized, quality-assured format—in real time, via a single connection.
View clear, complete Sigs
Sig IQ uses the NCPDP standard and a pharmacist review process to translate free-text directions into a standardized format with the highest-quality, most accurate response.
Improve patient safety
Reduce errors, ADEs and readmissions. Show clinicians 12 months of a patient’s prescription history to help spot adherence concerns and inform new drug therapy decisions.
How it works for health systems
A member of your care team initiates a Medication History request within the EHR.
Surescripts identifies the correct patient using our comprehensive Master Patient Index and finds their medication records.
Surescripts analyzes data across medications, providers, dispensed days and pharmacies.
Deduplication returns one accurate record of each medication. Augmentation fills gaps via network and third-party data.
Sig IQ helps ensure the Sig is clear and easily understood.
Surescripts translates free-text Sig data into a quality-controlled, standards-based and clinically validated format.
Surescripts compiles a comprehensive medication history file and sends it to your EHR.
Medication History responses are embedded in the patient’s chart or medication history workflow.
Clinicians receive important medication and fill data at the point of care.
With Medication History for Reconciliation in the EHR workflow, medication review becomes safer and more efficient.
Give providers access to complete, up-to-date medication histories
Improve intake efficiency with an accurate medication list—including cash-pay prescriptions—to save providers time and prevent safety issues.
Reduce medication reconciliation time
Quickly view up-to-date and accurate medication lists.
Improve efficiency
Eliminate manual transcription errors and unreported drugs.
View clear, complete Sigs
Sig IQ uses the NCPDP standard and a pharmacist review process to translate free-text directions into a standardized format with the highest-quality, most accurate response.
Improve patient safety
Reduce medication errors, ADEs and readmissions.
How it works for long-term & post-acute care
A healthcare provider initiates a Medication History request within your platform.
Surescripts identifies the correct patient using our comprehensive Master Patient Index and finds their medication records.
Surescripts analyzes data across medications, providers, dispensed days and pharmacies.
Deduplication returns one accurate record of each medication. Augmentation fills gaps via network and third-party data.
Sig IQ helps ensure the Sig is clear and easily understood.
Surescripts translates free-text Sig data into a quality-controlled, standards-based and clinically validated format.
Surescripts compiles a comprehensive medication history file and sends it to your platform.
You can choose to embed Medication History responses in the patient’s chart, medication history workflow or both.
The provider receives important medication and fill data at the point of care.
With these insights in the long-term and post-acute care workflow, medication review becomes safer and more efficient.
Get more clarity with Sig IQ
Guessing at unclear instructions can slow down reconciliation and pose safety risks. Sig IQ translates free-text patient directions into a quality-controlled and clinically validated format.
Standards-driven
Sig IQ uses NCPDP best practices to standardize the Structured & Codified Sig to the expectations of the clinical network.
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Clinically reviewed
Each free-text Sig and its structured and codified format undergo pharmacist review. The evaluation and verification process includes clinical assessment as well as NCPDP formatting confirmation.
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No guesswork
Sig IQ does not make assumptions based on information outside of the Sig. Instead, direct mapping and clinical review protect prescriber intent and patient safety.
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Real-world results
Find out more about Medication History for Reconciliation
What makes Surescripts Medication History unique?
Unlike traditional health information exchange or EHR medication lists, Surescripts Medication History provides an accurate list of medications that have been purchased by the patient. Surescripts’ unique approach supplies medication information from pharmacy fill data as well as pharmacy benefit plan claims.
Can medication history information received from Surescripts be added directly to a patient’s electronic chart?
Yes. This helps providers and staff maintain accurate medication lists within their EHR.
Does Medication History include prescriptions purchased with cash, or only those covered by the pharmacy benefit?
No matter how a prescription is purchased, connected pharmacies will provide the medication fill data to Surescripts. That means users get a comprehensive view of all prescriptions, whether they were paid for via benefits, cash, coupons or any other method.
Who has access to Surescripts Medication History?
Medication History data is sensitive personal information that is part of a patient’s EHR and is provided solely for treatment purposes in compliance with HIPAA. Clinicians who conduct medication reconciliation as part of caring for patients view this information in their EHR and use it when providing patient care or reconciling medications for patients traversing care settings.
Once a medication is prescribed, how soon will it show up in Surescripts Medication History?
Once a medication is confirmed to have been purchased by the patient from a connected pharmacy or through a pharmacy benefit plan, it will appear on the medication history list within about 24 hours. This means that a medication picked up at the pharmacy yesterday morning should appear on the medication list today.
Keep pace with healthcare innovation
- Surescripts, “2023 National Progress Report,” March 2024.
- Kin Wah Fung et al., “Comparison of Electronic Pharmacy Prescription Records with Manually Collected Medication Histories in an Emergency Department,” Annals of Emergency Medicine 62, no. 3, September 2013.
- Joshua M. Pevnick et al., “Potential Benefit of Electronic Pharmacy Claims Data to Prevent Medication History Errors and Resultant Inpatient Order Errors,” Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association 23, no. 5 (September 2016): 942–950.