- Patient leaves request for refill with pharmacy.
- Pharmacy faxes me request for refill authorization.
- Patient goes to pharmacy expecting to pick refill which is not there.
- Patient leaves message on my voice mail: "Where's my refill!?"
- I retrieve voice mail.
- I call pharmacy: a) I did not receive refill request or b) Pharmacy did not send refill request
- Pharmacy faxes refill request.
- I fax refill or order via eprescribing service.
I suggested a solution to tech support at the eprescribing service I have been using, allscripts.com: Give the patient limited access to and control over the refill process. Instead of calling the pharmacy the patient would access her account at the eprescribing Web site. She would click on the prescription she wanted to refill and indicate the name of the pharmacy she wanted to use. My eprescibing service alerts me to the request. I access the Web site, check the patient's name, the drug, last date filled, etc. With a click I authorize the refill, and the pharmacy receives the order. The system alerts the patient who can check the status of the whole process at any time, and may opt for email notification from the pharmacy when the prescription has been prepared for pick up. The system could even alert the patient if there is a problem, like the medication is not in stock. The patient can then select a different pharmacy.
What do you think?
Posts
It is an excellent idea. The docs in Austin are already trying to move to the doc/pharm aspect, butthe patient is still out of the loop. The process helps to maintain rx control so there is no doctor shopping, or at least limited doctor shopping for certain meds. Used correctly and expanded to the patient, it completes a triad with and old history of errors, aggrivation, and excuses. bravo.
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