HIPAA News

First Health Services and RxHub Partner to Provide ePrescribing Services for Medicaid Recipients

(Oct 20, 2007)-- First Health Services and RxHub today announced a joint agreement to provide a secure network infrastructure for ePrescribing for Medicaid recipients in 14 states nationwide. The infrastructure provides authorized physicians with access to critical decision support at the point of care through the RxHub National Patient Health Information Network. This information helps physicians make informed prescribing decisions that promote patient safety and manage costs associated with healthcare delivery.

The administration of Medicaid Management Information Systems (MMIS) and standalone Pharmaceutical Services point-of-sale systems has changed dramatically since First Health Services entered the fiscal agent business in 1972. Today, state Medicaid programs, and the providers they serve, are demanding much more than just timely and reliable claims processing. In today's rapidly changing technological environment, Pharmaceutical Services Systems that support Medicaid programs must be designed to allow greater and ready access to program data so that program managers can enhance fiscal control, reduce fraud and abuse, coordinate fee-for-service (FFS), managed care programs and promote appropriate and quality care for program recipients--all in a manner consistent with the privacy protections required by HIPAA.

"The partnership with RxHub provides secured access to real-time critical patient information for program recipients that are needed to enhance fiscal controls, reduce fraud and abuse, and promote quality care," stated Peter Quinn, chief operating officer, First Health Services. "First Health Services' strong clinical and technical focus provides the services that Medicaid agencies, and the members and providers they serve, now require."

First Health Services is certified and connected to the RxHub National Patient Health Information Network. This connection enables authorized physicians access to critical patient information including patient eligibility, benefits, formulary and medication history data which allows the physician to make informed prescribing decisions at the point of prescribing that promote patient safety and manage costs associated with healthcare delivery.

According to findings by the Center for Studying Health System Change (HSC) published in the journal Health Affairs, advanced ePrescribing features should include the ability to maintain complete patient medication lists, provide clinical decision support, access patient-specific formulary data, and provide the ability for two-way electronic communication between the medical practices, pharmacies and pharmacy benefit managers. Becoming part of the RxHub National Patient Health Information Network enables First Health Services to provide this advanced ePrescribing functionality.

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