Bringing ePrescribing To The Next Level: To Patients
The US has had ePrescribing since 2001. The new player aims to give more value to the patients.
“I think there's one key element that we've been leaving out of e-prescribing for the last 20 years, and that is the patient. Unfortunately, as we've digitized this process, we've left that patient completely out. I believe that there's an opportunity where we can keep the patient in the loop during the e-prescribing process. Inform them, provide them price transparency information, provide them with content that helps them understand why are they taking the drug, what's the proper way to take that drug,” says Lathe Bigler - vice president of clinical network services at FDB (First Databank) and general manager of FDB Vela™.
ePrescribing history in the US
In 2004, 4% of clinicians have adopted e Prescribing. It only became legal in all 50 states by 2007. Eight years later, prescribing controlled substances and prior authorization were well adopted on this one and only ePrescribing network.
Read more about the Surescripts ePrescribing network.
In 2022, a new player came to the market, founded by FDB - a global provider of clinical decision support tools and resources for medication. FDB Vela differentiates itself with newer technology and additional features, they’re also building a veterinarian ePrescribing network.
Who is in the network?
The network focuses on connecting stakeholders such as health plans, pharmacy benefit managers, providers, EHR systems, and pharmacies.
Collaboration with EHR partners is crucial for integrating workflow enhancements into prescribers' routines effectively without disrupting their normal practices.
And then there’s access to price transparency for patients. “Right now there's a lot of requirements coming down from, whether it be state level or CBMs around price transparency and helping patients to understand what their drug benefit costs are going to be when they're prescribed therapy. At the moment, most of the weight of that is being borne by the provider. The provider is being given price and transparency information, and I think that it's a good sentiment to enable a provider to do that. But remember, this is gonna take the doctor more time in the exam room to now price shop with patients on what's gonna be the best for them financially. And what we would rather do is we'd rather also provide those tools directly to the consumer or to the patient so that they can enable that themselves,” says Lathe Bigler.
Tune in for the full episode.
Show notes and time stamps
Discussion on Eprescribing with Leide Bigler (02:35-09:58)
What is ePrescribing and FDB Vela? (03:02-05:34)
The importance of involving patients in ePrescribing (04:37-05:34)
The history of Eprescribing in the US (06:36-07:59)
The relationship between ePrescribing networks (08:22-09:47)
Progress made in ePrescribing and FDB's innovative approach (09:58-10:52)
Focus on Patient Understanding and Veterinary Care (11:51-15:51)
The benefits of additional Eprescribing networks for patients (11:51-12:29)
Addressing the distinction between pet and human prescriptions (13:08-14:08)
Developing a business model and addressing pricing with patients (14:42-16:49)
The impact on doctors' time and the importance of transparency (16:49-17:46)
FDB's Vision for Eprescribing (18:11-19:22)
The need for innovation in Eprescribing (18:11-18:46)
FDB's focus on the US market (19:06-19:20)
Transition from knowledge management to Eprescribing (19:22-20:30)
Gathering feedback and surprising insights from stakeholders (21:11-22:05)
Current Progress and Future Developments (22:48-27:46)
Insights from existing users and ongoing data analysis (22:48-23:53)
Anticipations for the future of ePrescribing and genomics (23:53-26:06)
FDB's advantage as a knowledge provider (26:15-26:43)
Opportunities for advancements in patient access to genomic tests (27:12-27:46)
Conclusion and Call to Action (27:46)