Home Forums Discussions General Discussion New Crop - Help with refill requests

I am using v5.28 to E prescribe. When I choose to E-Prescribe on patients, it is going well. I love being able to send in a script at the same time I am on the phone with a patient.

However, some pharmacies complained I was not responding to refill requests. I did not realize I was getting them, as I had not been going to the NewCrop online page.

When I go to the online NewCrop refill request page, there is a long list of refill requests. I can not seem to find any way through the NewCrop screen to OK the refills. Am I missing something? The tutorial also will not work for me. It seems like I should just be able to check "OK" and approve them. Is this not the case?

Do I have to print out the refill request screen and refill them as I normall would through AC or my nurses?

If so, I would rather just get a fax. I do not know what I have and have not refilled through that screen.

Is there a way to stop pharmacies from electronically requesting refills? I feel Amazing Charts (and I) am not ready for this, but I do not know how to shut it off. I want to E-Prescribe, but not get the requests.

I am afraid of getting some major complaint against me that I am not responding to refill requests, but I can not figure it out what to do.

Any ideas?

Thanks,

-Lee

Internal Medicine / Rheumatology
Crestview Hills, Kentucky

You can see the list of pharmacy requests: main page the online services drop menu's first choice OR control + P will take you there. Once you see the name of the pt, you need to choose the pt individually, either scroll down or Control M to the medications ( you can refill from multiple screens) and then choose the refill.
There is no ok to a list of requests. Apparantly this is intentionally done to protect from errors.
To my knowledge, you cannot shut it off. Consider setting an " appt time" to refill medications on a daily basis, and then you can look at the the incoming requests. Just faxing will still require you to somehow keep a copy that you sent it for the Rxs that are faxed, but "misdirected."

There is a detailed explanation on approving refills sent from pharmacies in this thread. I also put this on the Wiki as a new topic under "How Do I...?".


No, once you transmit 5 eRxs to pharmacies, you you appear on the SureScripts provider list as capable of receiving refill requests electronically. I believe that if you don't respond to refills within a few days, SureScripts has the option of shutting down your eRx.

Despite the startup learning curve, doing refill requests this way is efficient and fast. Just assign a staff member to check for pending refill requests several times a day by using the drop-down menu heading "Online Services" at the top of any main AC window. Choose "Electronic Prescribing" for the list of patients pending. Then the physician can log on and complete the refills, using the procedure in the thread above.

So now that I have started on this path, I see that we have refill requests dating back to March that have been filled via phone call. How do I delete them off my list?

In the AC main window, use the "Online Services" drop-down, choose "Electronic Prescribing" to display the list of pending approvals. Next click on each patient's name, and in the window that opens, scroll halfway down below the green bar to the "Deny" button. Use the drop-down menu below the button to indicate the reason, most likely "Patient has picked up prescription". Then clinic "Deny".

Return to the first NewCrop window, until you have denied refill approval for each patient, and the list is empty.

Hey, thanks everyone.
I just tried it, and it worked.

I guess I do not understand why you can not just click on the patient name from the NewCrop refill request screen, and go from there.

Having to open the NewCrop refill request screen, then completely back out to AC, then go back in to NewCrop again, then click a few times does seem tedious and redundant.

I also do not like that once I start E-Rx, I have no way to block refill requests, and am thus forced to do this.

Oh well, I guess something needs to force me into doing this, I hope it is worth it in the long run.

Thanks for all the help.

-Lee

So it seems AC will not track refills in the history when they are sent electronically? Would the preferred procedure be to deny electronically and refill from AC by e-script?

It is possible to see the refill approvals, but you have to check in NewCrop, not AC (yet):
1. Refill the patient's eRx, using NewCrop.
2. With the AC "Medications & ePrescribing" window open, choose "Manage via NewCrop screens" from the "ePrescribing" drop-down menu at the upper left.
3. Click the "Admin" tab at the top right of the NewCrop window that opens.
4. Under "Reports" on the upper left, just under the patient's name, choose "Prescriber Report".
5. The window changes to show two calendars. If you are checking on the same day that you approved the refill, don't change anything, and click the "Printer Friendly" link under the calendars. Otherwise, choose the start and end dates, and then click the "Printer Friendly" link.
6. A table opens in a new window, showing all the patients for which eRx was done that day. The far right column, "Route", is blank if you approved a refill from a pharmacy, using the NewCrop screens (not AC). If you used the "Medications & ePrescribing" window in AC, the column says "Electronic".

We are beginning to use the refill option with New Crop. When we get to the Accept or Deny screen can anyone explain why it states on Deny and a link that says "If the patient link is gray, you must return to your main application to select this patient". Please advise.....

Does this mean we have to right a new script from AZ?

Chandra

You may deny from that screen - to refill a med you have to open the pt. medication prescribing pg, choose use NEWCROP and then do the fills. This is because NEWCROP requires you to look at all the pt meds to do a refill. It is a safety feature - hopefully within a month or so the newest version of AC will come out and completely change this......will be great.

I have been eprescribing over a week from Amazing Charts and just found the newcrop link. I do not see any refill requests from pharmacies listed. Should I call Newcrop to make sure it is turned on? I had been using automatic pharm link w/ my prior eprescribing and loved it! Also, is there a way for staff to put rx requests in queuing for me to okay and then send?

The refill requests from the pharmacies may take a few weeks to start coming. You don't need to take any action, as long as the pharmacies are receiving your eRx's.

The staff can enter the patient's meds in the prescribing window, and save them. But only the provider's account login can dispatch the eRx to the pharmacy. There used to be a staff "hold" area for eRx's on the NewCrop windows, but it doesn't work in version 5 ePrescribing.

I know many will disagree, but this job is hard enough (for me anyway) to not be able to use my MA the best I can. Given there is no easy way to allow me to OK med refills, etc., she does them and sends the message to me in my inbox. I would say I agree with more than 95%, if not 99%. It usually isn't that long, and if I don't agree, we just call the pharmacy and cancel. Obviously, CII are picked up at the office and things like Vicodin, she runs by me. But, we have patients with things like SLE and Dermatomyositis who require Vicodin every month, same dose, same amount.

So do I need to set up the staff as users in Newcrop for them to save rx for me to review?

I should let Steven handle this one. Solo, have you gone through the steps to refill medications via the New Crop screen. Besides, the fact that it is way too many steps and mind boggling (at first), you will see that in a way, it is already set up for you. There is nothing that your staff can do to really set them up.

In order to ePrescribe, your MAs will have to have high enough privileges to do this. They won't as far as I can tell be able to do it with the Nursing level checked.

The only thing your staff can do, besides actually do the refill would be to go through that patient's med list in AC and make sure they meet the correct criteria, e.g. no PRNs and no spelled out dispenses and no QS or 30mL. That would definitely make it easier for you. But, they won't be able to do anything on a particular med.

Steven, correct me if I am wrong.

There are 2 distinct types of eRx in the version 5 of AC.

Outgoing eRx from within AC
Any user can do -- right click on the patient's name and choose Medications & ePrescribing. Fill in the med(s). When all meds are written, click the "2. Prescribe" button. In the "Print/Transmit" window that opens, click "Close". This adds the meds(s) to the patient's Current Medications list. The "Transmit to Pharmacy" button cannot be clicked, unless the user is signed in as a provider (doctor). But the staff can enter the meds.
Physician can do -- all the steps above, plus choose pharmacy and click "Transmit to Pharmacy" button.

Sending out eRx's and approving pharmacy refill requests in NewCrop
Any user can do -- right click on the patient's name and choose Medications & ePrescribing. Select "Manage using NewCrop screens" under "ePrescribing". The patient's NewCrop window opens, and anyone can begin a new Rx and transmit it, as well as clicking on the "Pharm...Fax...Pend" link at the top of the page to approve pharmacy refill requests. It appears that any user with an AC login can use the NewCrop windows, provider level or below.

So if staff needs full access, I guess it is possible via NewCrop windows.

I am been eprescribing for 5 yrs, first w/ ISCRIBE and more recently w/ POCKETSCRIPT. Both of these companies got out of the business which is what brought me to AC. In the past my receptionists would put all the refills in a queue and then I would review and send them. I just found the newcrop screen tonight and will try it tomorrow. In my prior program, it would also show me what was in the patient's formulary as I chose the med. I am hoping the newcrop screen will do that. My old system would actually verify the patient's rx coverage and autopopulate the mail order pharmacy, as well. I have only been using the AC to prescribe for the past 2 wks.

NewCrop will verify Rx coverage and identify formulary drugs as you are choosing meds. I have not noticed a way to find the "preferred" mail order pharmacies, but all the major ones can be searched for in the transmit window.

I will have to play around with it tomorrow. I am hoping at least that the nurse will be able to send refills.

One tip about it. If you have a patient with a lot of meds, say 10. And, they have a refill on the New Crop site. You go to the site and see they have refills. You have to, as you probably know, close the site (maybe you can keep it open -- Steven?), but you do have to go back to that patient's chart. Now, you can bet that out of those 10 meds, at least two or three are going to have a PRN, QS, 60 mL, 30 thirty, 4 ounces. Any med that has entries (especially in the dispense field) that would keep you from ePrescribing it, will also keep you from being able to access the New Crop screen from that patient's chart by using the button in the top left-hand corner.

If you try to use that button, you will probably get an error message listing three, four or five meds and their problem. So, the first med, will say that the mLs is the problem, the second PRN, etc. That takes way too long.

You are much off just clicking on the top med in the script writer and loading it into the window. Glance at the dispense field and the refills. If they are clean, then click on Prepare Script and leave it in the Pending Medications field. Do that with every medication, correcting those that need correcting. Remember if it says 45 mL, you can just back space over the mLs, but as Wendell reminded everyone at the conference, be careful about leaving a space. It tend to just quickly highlight the whole field and replace it with 45. Some, like Steve, just use a 0. Glance at the dispense field. It has to be a number. Fix it if you have to, then move the medication into the Pending Field. Do this with all of the medications. You can do the 10 meds in less than a minute. Don't forget to then click on prescribe. Don't send them, just click on Prescribe, the choose Close. Now all of them will be perfect, and you won't have this issue again. Sure, the downside, it they will all look as though they were prescribed that day, but you still have the history.

The other way, you are looking at the meds that have to be fixed from the grey screen with the 4 font. After fixing those meds, you have to go back to the Manage Via New Crop Screen under ePrescribing in the top left corner to get the 4 font grey window again. This is because you can't do anything to a medication in the medication list without clicking OK and closing that window. So, you either have to go back and forth or have a good memory.

Try it both ways.

I have not had luck following your instructions to get rid of old e-Rx requests. I followed all your directions and when I click on the patient's name, as you state (Next click on each patient's name, and in the window that opens), no window opens. I then tried right clicking on the patient's name and a drop down window appears but there is no "deny" selection. Could you please advise, if there is something I am missing.
Thanks,
Karen

karen,

What part of the NewCrop window are you in? It should say "Status" on the top center. The physician's name should be on the far right. The next section below the thick blue lines should be titled "Pharmacy Renewal Requests". The patient names should be in blue, and the cursor should change to a "hand" when passed over the patient's name, which then becomes underlined, indicating it is a hyperlink. Clicking on the name opens another window, called "Pharmcom Pt Selection", with the "Deny" button just under the patient name in the Patient Search Results.

If you don't have the patient name(s) as active links to the search window, you should call (888-236-1013) or email (customersupport@newcroprx.com) NewCrop to troubleshoot. This isn't an AC problem.

Karen,

I could be way off here, but I am guessing that both of you are referring to two different things. Are you clicking on the patient name from the Patient List IN Amazing Charts? If so, you will open a window which is their progress note screen but has little to do with ePrescribe denials. If you right click the patient in the Patient List IN Amazing Charts, you will get a drop down MENU, but you will not see a window.

It could be that you are not getting into New Crop's site where clicking on a name will get you to the correct window.

If you look at the first two sentences, you will see where John is showing everyone how to get to New Crop, e.g. at the main AC window by clickinig on on Electronic Prescribing under Online Services. I FIND IT EASIER TO JUST CLICK CTRL + P AT THE MAIN SCREEN. You must do this first. THIS will get you to the New Crop site page you need to first be in. Now, if you click on a patient name, it will take you to another window where you can deny the script. As said, once in that window (to keep it simple) find the green bar. Just under it to the left is a grey "Deny" button. You can write in your reason or choose from any one of the 200 listed.

Hope this helps.

Karen,

I am not sure if this helps, but I spent at least five minutes scrolling up and down the question to see a) who you were referring to and, b) which post. It would help us if you refer to whom posted the answer and possibly quote it or at least a snippet. Giving the post# can be helpful as well. Finally, if you really want to help us find the post in question, use the URL above but change the post# at the end to the post you were responding to.

http://www.amazingcharts.com/ub/ubbthreads.php/topics/22890/New_Crop_Help_with_refill_requ#Post21539

Actually, anyone with "High" privileges, e.g. Midlevels and medical students can transmit meds. This is true with either radio button under High.

I have experimented way too much with New Crop and users. It doesn't seem to work at all with anything below nurse. Nurse is a toss up. Sometimes can't even get into New Crop, sometimes it works perfectly and sometimes it doesn't, but if you select the doctor in the pull down list, it will work. Crazy. Can't wait to get out of the website.