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January 31, 2006
Blue Cross Awarded $1.2 Million Grant to Pilot E-Prescribing Software
Investor's Business Daily: Breaking News.
"This initiative provides a unique opportunity for health care organizations in our community to work in a collaborative setting to not only validate proposed e-prescribing standards, but also improve supporting business processes," said Fred Dickson, Blue Cross vice president and chief information officer. "Most importantly, it will enhance patient safety for our members in the use of prescription drugs."
The 12-month study began Jan. 1, 2006 and is evaluating e-prescribing standards in the context of long-term care facilities and related workflow. Four skilled nursing facilities are the object of the study. They represent typical long-term care settings and have a high usage of Medicare and Medicaid. To test the standards, the implementation of e-prescribing will be in three phases. Comparison studies will begin immediately upon completion of the project and the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) will receive a full report on the findings.
The team of providers, pharmacies and technology services joined forces to successfully pilot this program, and include: Benedictine Health Systems, Preferred Choice Pharmacy, RNA EagleT, RxHub, Prime Therapeutics LLC, Minnesota Department of Health and Achieve Healthcare Technology.
E-prescribing proposes to improve patient safety by checking prior prescription medication usage, reducing unnecessary therapies and making medication history available across healthcare organizations. Blue Cross became involved because of a strong interest in the value of quality care, particularly in the long-term care setting.
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota, with headquarters in the St. Paul suburb of Eagan, was chartered in 1933 as Minnesota's first health plan and continues to carry out its charter mission today: to promote a wider, more economical and timely availability of health services for the people of Minnesota. A not-for-profit, taxable organization, Blue Cross is the largest health plan based in Minnesota, covering 2.6 million members in Minnesota and nationally through its health plans or plans administered by its affiliated companies. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, headquartered in Chicago. Go to http://www.bluecrossmn.com to learn more about Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota.
SOURCE Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota
Jan Hennings, +1-651-662-6139, or Joel Swanson, +1-651-662-2882, both of Blue Cross
and Blue Shield of Minnesota
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