CHAPEL HILL -- Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina (BCBSNC) is making good on its claim "Innovative Health Care Designed Around You," by offering physicians access to its up-to-date drug formulary through ePocrates Rx TM. Physicians can download this software directly onto their hand-held organizers. The ePocrates software is free and allows physicians to view clinical drug information, like adult vs. pediatric dosing, drug interactions and side effects, all in an effort to improve medication safety.
Robert T. Harris, M.D., chief medical officer and senior vice president of BCBSNC, said he expects that physicians will adopt this new technology quickly.
"As a health insurer, BCBSNC is vitally interested in promoting and providing
technology that can result in better patient care and less administrative hassles
for physicians," Harris said. "The ePocrates software clearly fulfills
that objective."
A recent study conducted at Brigham and Women's Hospital and published in the
May/June issue of the Journal of American Medical Informatics Association reported
that physicians using the ePocrates Rx handheld electronic drug reference guide
could avoid one-to-two patient-adverse events per week. The study reported that
the technology also saved time for physicians and improved physician-patient
relationships.
Physicians give the new technology a thumbs-up for safety and efficiency. Jonathan
Flescher, M.D., president, Key Physicians IPA, who practices with Wake Internal
Medicine Associates in Raleigh, uses ePocrates 20- to-30 times a day while seeing
patients.
"The patient safety attributes alone, not to mention the efficiency and
cost effectiveness benefits, makes ePocrates an invaluable service," he
said. "To be able to determine quickly and definitively the potential for
drug interactions with a few taps on my handheld, provides a large dose of peace-
of-mind to my patient and myself before the script is ever written."
The innovative technology also allows physicians to know the general cost of
a drug by checking what tier it is in-all while the patient is right there in
the office-no more printed booklets for the physician to leaf through. The member's
ID card lists the amount they will pay for each drug tier. In addition, the
software saves time by avoiding calls back and forth from physicians to pharmacists
checking to see if the prescribed drug is in the Plan's formulary and/or if
there is a generic equivalent.
More than 675,000 health-care professionals are registered with ePocrates, making
it the largest handheld clinician network in the world.
About Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina is a leader in delivering innovative
health care products, services and information to 2.8 million members, including
470,000 served on behalf of other Blue plans. The company offers its members
the Blue Extras(SM) value-added programs, which provide discounts and information
on a wide variety of health-related services at no additional cost. BCBSNC also
offers life, dental, long-term care and disability insurance products.