EPN - Electronic Prescribing News

ROCKVILLE, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 3, 2005--Frost & Sullivan, the global growth consulting firm, has honored DrFirst, Inc.® with the prestigious 2005 Healthcare Information Technology of the Year Award for their Rcopia Electronic Prescription Management System. DrFirst Rcopia is an end-to-end electronic prescribing system that manages the prescription writing process electronically by connecting physicians to critical patient information such as patient insurance information, medication history, and drug interactions at the point-of-care. In addition to these capabilities, Rcopia® was chosen for its ability to share data between physicians in order to improve continuity-of-care along with its ability to tightly interface with other systems such as electronic medical record (EMR) and practice management systems (PMS). DrFirst maintains value-add partnerships and alliances, which assist healthcare professionals to fully integrate the product, increasing workflow functionality and the ability to offer a scalable solution for deployment. The Award will be presented at the 2005 Excellence in Healthcare Awards Banquet in Miami, Florida on November 9.

"As a premiere leader in ePrescribing, DrFirst understands that healthcare is an interconnected environment and requires seamless operations between physician practices, IPAs, hospitals, payers, PBMs, pharmacies and others. DrFirst provides solutions that deliver unique benefits to each type of association while achieving benefits for healthcare as whole," states Frost & Sullivan industry analyst Steve Tobin. "Currently, DrFirst is working with organizations across healthcare delivering those benefits and enabling improvements to the continuity-of-care. The company has provided industry leadership both in terms of technology and quality service. Unquestionably, DrFirst is leading the evolution of clinical applications that provide social network effects, which increase workflow efficiencies while improving patient care."

Founded in early 2000, DrFirst was one of the first e-healthcare and e-prescribing vendors in the industry. Since then, DrFirst's flagship product, Rcopia, has been repeatedly recognized as the nation's leading, full-featured, stand-alone electronic prescription management system. DrFirst has won many awards including the Top Honors at the Medical Records Institutes' TEPR conference for Rcopia, acknowledgement for the 2005 3G A-List Award by Qualcomm through their work with CareFirst and Sprint for successful wireless rollout of 500 providers in the Mid-Atlantic region. The company is also exclusively endorsed by the Massachusetts Medical Society, and promoted by the Medical Society of Delaware.

"Through documentation and evaluation of decreased adverse drug events (ADE), mis-fill avoidance, and increased formulary compliance we have been able to successfully document ROI for many of our clients who have sponsored e-prescribing initiatives," said James F. Chen, CEO and Chairman of DrFirst. "In the current environment where healthcare professionals are subject to accelerating time pressures, the increased efficiency and productivity brought by Rcopia allows providers and their staff to focus on patient safety. Improvements in these areas are expected to lower healthcare costs while improving the general quality of care."

Each year, Frost & Sullivan presents the Technology of the Year Award to the company that has made the most significant contribution toward the creation of industry standards and the adoption of a product. Frost & Sullivan rigorously measure and analyze specific criteria to determine award recipients and track market technology innovations through ongoing market research, market interviews and extensive secondary and technology research. Frost & Sullivan Awards are presented to companies that demonstrate best practices in their industry, commending the diligence, commitment, and innovative business strategies required to advance in the global marketplace.

"DrFirst's excellence in the field has extended beyond its technical advancements. The company's total solution is able to offer customers a networked system for electronic prescribing, transcending ad hoc electronic prescription solutions that remain archaic and not well integrated," adds Tobin. "With healthcare delivery organizations requiring the integration of a myriad of clinical applications and the ability to link pharmacies, payers and physicians, Rcopia is a premiere product for healthcare professionals and organizations."

Frost & Sullivan's Best Practices Awards Banquet honors world-class companies for contributing innovative developments to the pharmaceutical and life sciences industry, as well as companies yielding emerging technologies in a variety of fields. An annual event, the banquet recognizes the quality and merit of distinguished individuals and companies that deliver unparalleled insight on the industry, products and services.

DrFirst is partnered with NDCHealth, SureScripts, RxHub, FirstDataBank, Epocrates, PatientKeeper and many other industry leaders, to ensure that their clients have access to the most reliable and up-to-date information and services. DrFirst is committed to improving healthcare and patient safety by delivering technologies that enable medical professionals and their staffs to quickly and easily access critical medical information at the point-of-care. More information about DrFirst can be found at http://www.drfirst.com/.

About Frost & Sullivan

Frost & Sullivan, a global growth consulting company, has been partnering with clients to support the development of innovative strategies for more than 40 years. The company's industry expertise integrates growth consulting, growth partnership services, and corporate management training to identify and develop opportunities. Frost & Sullivan serves an extensive clientele that includes Global 1000 companies, emerging companies, and the investment community by providing comprehensive industry coverage that reflects a unique global perspective and combines ongoing analysis of markets, technologies, econometrics, and demographics. For more information, visit http://www.frost.com.

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Contact:

     DrFirst
     Irene Froehlich, 888-271-9898 x147
     ifroehlich@drfirst.com
      or
     Frost & Sullivan
     Stacie Jones, 210-247-2450
     Stacie.jones@frost.com