The Importance of Surescripts Integration in Medical Data Sharing

A patient’s medical data consists of his or her immunizations, allergies, prescriptions, bloodwork, scans, and history of diagnoses. However, it is not always that all of this data resides in one system for providers to access during consultations or emergencies. It is not uncommon for patients’ medical data to be distributed throughout disparate systems across the country or state. But the Surescripts network allows providers, nurses, and pharmacists to access the necessary data without hassle for patient care. A Surescripts integration facilitates data sharing to help providers make better treatment decisions.  

Benefits of Surescripts EHR Integration

1. Medication Affordability

People tend to have varying health plans based on their income levels and jobs. It means that their insurance payer won’t cover certain treatments, medical services, procedures, and drugs. When providers prescribe a drug to patients, there is a good chance it won’t be covered, leading to unexpected costs for both. But a Surescripts EMR integration provides comprehensive patient data access from several disparate sources.  

Providing health intelligence is the main forte of Surescripts, and it was founded to provide a way to replace paper-based prescriptions. So, a Surescripts integration allows providers to access the list of drugs covered by each patient’s health plan. This ensures that all patients can afford the drugs they need and also re-fill them.

2. Overcoming Gaps in Data

Gaps in medical data could result in medication errors or misdiagnoses. The impact of either of those depends on the kind of disease and the overall health of the patient. These gaps can be due to unequal access to care, patient data being spread across multiple systems, or even oversight from medical staff at an organization.   

EHR with Surescripts connects providers with numerous sources across multiple cities and states to enable an aggregated view of patients’ data. This means that providers will be able to access the complete history of each patient, even if parts of it are spread across disparate systems. As a result, they can make informed decisions about treatments and care. 

3. Lower Duplications  

The absence of adequate patient data means that providers must order additional tests, scans and even prescribe medications. Most patients are usually unaware of their clinical histories and would generally not recall previous clinical encounters. As a result, additional tests, scans, or prescriptions become redundant.   

Numerous studies have discovered that redundant medical services cost the healthcare industry tens of billions yearly. But Surescripts custom healthcare software solutions for interoperability minimize redundancy. They interconnect providers, nurses, pharmacists, and other caregivers nationwide to provide a complete picture of a patient’s medical background. This removes any need for repeated tests or scans, helping providers, patients, and payers.   

4. Surescripts E-Prescribing Solutions

Surescripts began when some pharmacy associations formed a company and replaced paper-based prescriptions. Over time, similar organizations came together to make up the company as it is today. The company’s primary goal is to facilitate access to complete patient information at the point of care.   

The Surescripts Network Alliance was conceived to ease the sharing of healthcare intelligence among multiple stakeholders. These include vendors of EHR or EMR systems, clinicians, pharmacies, health plans, post-acute care organizations, etc. The company’s flagship product is its E-prescribing solutions. This allows providers to send digital prescriptions directly to the pharmacists.   

The most obvious advantage of electronic prescriptions is the convenience of not needing to handle paper-based prescriptions. These can be lost or misplaced by patients. Moreover, doctors’ illegible handwriting leads to high chances of prescription errors, even for seasoned pharmacists. But electronic prescription software that is a part of integrated healthcare solutions at hospitals or a remote health monitoring system eliminates any chances of such mistakes.   

An added benefit of e-prescribing software is that patients won’t be able to commit prescription fraud. The platform will prevent any faked re-fill requests and also show providers the entire medical history of patients with a few clicks on a screen. Overusing prescription medication is becoming a major problem in the country, and a platform for digital prescription with a database will go a long way in curbing the problem.  

Patient history is vital since the impact of a particular treatment will vary according to a patient’s medication history. For example – a person taking heart medication might respond differently to a strong anti-biotic compared to a person who is otherwise healthy.   

One of the biggest benefits of using an electronic prescription system is monitoring controlled substances’ distribution. These are certain drugs whose manufacture and use are strictly regulated. The opioid epidemic in the United States has become a major public health problem, and Surescripts integration will help providers prevent controlled substances from being abused by patients. It is no wonder that Surescripts EHR integration and similar solutions are seen as an effective way of combating the opioid crisis.   

The ability to pull up patients’ medication history and know if someone might be at risk of addiction or overdose helps providers and patients. It is one of the biggest advantages that an EMR with Surescripts offers. 

5. Surescripts Integration for Telehealth

Advanced telehealth solutions leverage digital and telecommunication technologies to help doctors provide medical services remotely. Such platforms enable patients to schedule appointments online and have consultations virtually using a computer or smartphone and an internet connection. A Surescripts EMR integration using Surescripts API helps to incorporate e-prescription software with a telehealth solution. This will enable providers to offer remote, virtual consultations and prescribe drugs electronically. In other words, providers can send their e-prescriptions directly to the pharmacists, where the patients can pick them up.  

A Sure Scripts EHR will allow providers offering remote care through telehealth solutions to view patients’ medication histories and make informed decisions. This advantage will improve the quality of remote care and prevent the abuse of prescription medication or controlled substances.  

Conclusion 

The medical industry is rapidly adopting newer technologies like robotics process automation, automated healthcare solutions, telehealth, and IoT. This means that the ease of data sharing will become a key asset for quality patient care. In light of this, Surescripts integration can help individual providers and larger hospitals adapt to the changes and be prepared to serve their patients well.

References 

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