Home Forums Discussions Problems Preferred Pharmacy

I have almost never been able to get the patient's preferred pharmacy to show up when I go to select the pharmacy. My staff faithfully enters the pharmacy in the demographics, but >95% of the time it does not show up when I go to transmit, and I have to do search every time I send a rx. Most of the other docs have abandoned erx because they find it faster to print than search.

Has anyone had this problem and been able to solve it?

Thanks,

David Moore

It is a known bug in 5.029. I am hoping it is fixed by version 6.

I am sorry to see so many problems reported on the board with the AC eRx. As a new user, I am continuing to use my free ERx Now (from Allscripts)E prescribing, works great, can save as many favorite pharmacies as you like both local and mail order. Instead of trying to reinvent the wheel using New Crop, I wish AC would integrate with ERx Now. Did I mention that it is FREE to every physician in the US?

I tried ERx Now a while ago and thought it was somewhat cumbersome. It works for you and that is important. You have figured out a good workflow, I couldn't. I was already using AC at the time, before ePrescribing.

Overall ePrescribing through AC works well. There are a few bugs, but you should try it. It will certainly help with double entry and keep track of current Rxs.

ERx Now has added tremendous features since I started with it years ago. Here is the comparison from Surescripts of the 2 ERx. I wanted to simply show what is available that AC is missing presently. I would like to do my prescribing in AC. But, I want it to have the features that I have found useful (and not lose rx as has been reported recently).The problem is not AC per se, it is the New Crop software.
The link is below if you wish to see the web pages at Surescripts that detail all of the ERx programs.

National E-prescribing Initiative (ERx Now):
Prescription Eligibility/Formulary YES
Prescription Reporting YES
Medication History YES
Prescription Routing:
Retail New/Refill YES/YES
Mail Order New/Refill YES/YES(refill certified but not yet in use)

Amazing Charts (New Crop):
Prescription Eligibility/Formulary NO
Prescription Reporting NO
Medication History NO
Prescription Routing:
Retail New/Refill YES/YES
Mail Order New/Refill NO/NO

Surescripts certification

I guess what I am really asking is: Why is AC using NewCrop when there appear to be better solutions? Does anyone know?

I sure don't. I used the Allscripts free ERx program for a couple of years before going with AC, and I loved it. The only reason to not stick with it is having to keep two patient databases current. I think it is and was a vastly better program.

I've noticed that sometimes when the preferred pharmacy doesn't show up it's because the patient's zip code is in the box and is different from the preferred pharmacy's zip.

Dave

So Dave, what do you do if the zip codes are different? Any work around? I had noticed that occasionally only a zip code shows up for the preferred pharmacy, but most of the time everything is blank.

I even went to version 5.1.7, but no change in the problem.

You can type in any zip code or leave blank, search by city, state, name, etc. The first preferred only comes up by looking in pt. zip code - you can change to anything to search - the only ones that I have not got to save when I hit send and save is Mailorder such as Medco and do not know why.

The other thing is to make sure staff actually searches and enters one from the list of pharmacies - I have only seen this when my staff free typed in the name of the pharmacy. Once I showed them how to search for the official one it went away.

Yes, the pharmacy is selected from the database.

Just to be clear. Amazing charts NEVER saves the selected pharmacy as preferred. The pharmacy must be searched and selected each time an rx is written. Has anyone else had this problem? And has anyone had the problem and been able to fix, improve, or work around it?

I have never seen this error reproducible - what version of AC are you using ?

5.1.7

Same problem with 5.026. 5.028, 5.029

I think you need to contact Guardian Angel Support as I used almost all of those versions and have never had this issue except a very sporadic where they did not enter from drop down or a mailorder one.

I did contact support about this, Twice. As I stated above I was told it was a known bug. My preferred pharmacy never saves either.....100% of the time. I was told it was a known problem. They offered no explanation why it worked for some but not others, and no fix other than to await future releases. .

Here is something interesting though. The pharmacy information does update to NewCrop. If the pharmacy information is filled out under demographics it will update to to NewCrop but not to the Transmit Prescriptions section of Amazing Charts.

Sorry I didn't get back to you right away David. Thanks to Steven for bailing me out. I have never had the problem of the preferred pharmacy not saving but I'm still using 5.0.29. I've been holding out for v6.

David, we have had this problem as well. Amazing Charts has never saved the patients preferred pharmacy when transmitting an Rx. I too called support, they informed me that they receive calls all day long regarding this issue.

How do we submit a new pharmacy to the database? Several patients of ours want to go to a new Duane Reade thats not far from us, but this particular one is not in the database. I just installed v6.09 (and it was the smoothest install I've had in about 2 years).

Would suggest you call tech support and speak with them - you can also try NewCrop support to see if they will help. If you get no where with them drop me a pm.

This part of AC could be so much better. I really like sending by newcrop, as it is quick, but my staff has to check for refill requests daily and send me a message. Imagine the patient chart being sent to you box with a symbol for needing a refill, and when you opened it, the med list came up with the med needing a refill being highlighted, and you just clicked it to say okay! Now that would be efficient!

you need to upgrade to version 6 the refills are easy. I can get 20 of them and whip through them in just a few minutes.

What about some of the other issues that have been discussed in the pre-6 versions; have they been corrected?

-ability to enter text units (grams, ml, etc)
-ability to track which pharmacy prescription was sent to
-bug where preferred pharmacy is not remembered

When 5.1 was demo'd at last year's ACUC, it looked very promising for e-rx improvements, but I never used it due to the bugs reported here. Have they been fixed?

The pharmacy tracking is there. I sent one yesterday, and then was able to find a screen that showed the pharmacy and "verified." I assume the "verified" means they verified that it was received.

We've never had the problem of it not remembering the pharmacy. 5.029 seemded to work ok, and now 6.09 seems to work ok.

I don't think the issue on the units was addressed.

I've been using 5.028 FOREVER and ePrescribe is much more beneficial than any bugs. In fact, there aren't really any bugs, just improvements that haven't occurred yet.

I am now using Version 6. I did not put the patient preferred pharmacy in the demographics area. I sent an E-prescription today and the box is checked to save the Pharmacy as the patients preferred pharmacy when I transmit the RX.

When I go back in and open the chart, the preferred pharmacy is not saved. (preferred pharmacy is not in the patients current zip code).

Is this still a bug?

Chatted with Tech support just now and this is still a known issue in V6. Tech support suggested adding in Preferred Pharmacy first in demographics and then prescribing.

FYI - In V6, adding preferred pharmacy in demographics then prescribing doesn't save the preferred pharmacy. Thought this would have been fixed by now?

fixed,
not well implemented (can check if received will tell which pahrmacy,
not fixed, see above.

We still use version 5.0.28
I have not had my front people enter a preferred pharmacy - I probably should but haven't. I always do it from the exam room within the elctronic prescription pad when I e-preascribe for a patient for the very first time. The check box "save as preferred pharmacy" is checked by default, and unless I uncheck it, it ALWAYS remembers the preferred pharamcy I searched for and found for the next time.
I have had no issues, except a couple of our local mom and pop pharmacies and a couple of mail order pharmacies are not in the database. No problems for us but would hope this is fixed in Vers 6.
Jim

See this is the problem. None of the 81 and more suggestions will make it into v6. It was just too far along. Then you have PM coming out. That will take ALL of AC's time. And, of course, countless suggestions by people.

If there is anything more important than patient's progress notes and data, it is billing.

I think that once you get into 5.1 and higher, the pharmacies are updated much quicker.

I understand the frustration on the preferred pharmacy, which as you comment on Jim, is referring to the script writer, but I, too, have never had a pharmacy not be saved. Although, there are times I wish it would.

I assume the V6 has the pref pharm in a more usable location than the demo tab.

Same spot.

I always have to click back to the demo section and it would be GREAT if it was on the e-prescribing page somewhere

If I may. Well, I guess I always do. JBS, easy on me.

I think that having a preferred pharmacy anywhere in AC is non-productive. This could be filled out at the time of starting the practice and be completely out of date with what's in ePrescribe.

Now, if you are saying that the preferred pharmacy would automatically populate the script writer, that would be great, but I doubt that is possible.

For me, it is easier to save that step at the front end (where your receptionist puts that in -- giving one more step for error) and use it in the room and simply ask the patient what pharmacy they choose. Consider that as the time they choose their preferred pharmacy. It will stay there for the next time and next time...

When you prescribe a scrip for the first time you choose the pharmacy and hit save - will send the scrip and populate the demo section on its own (version 6).

I do ask them every visit what pharmacy, but they often act like I should remember what pharmacy they use.

But....it should be in the ePrescribe, sitting right there. I have the opposite experience. They wonder how I know. I usually send it, walk out the door, they ask for the script, I tell them I sent it.

They then ask where I sent it, and I say Walmart Brewer. And, they are amazed. How are you using ePrescribe? As soon as you click on Prescribe, it should take you to a window with only one pharmacy there.

It shows one pharmacy for the zip code that is on the patient demographics. However, their zip code may be in Palmer but they go to the Wasilla Fred Meyer Pharm instead of the Palmer FM (different zip). My PO box across the street has a different zip from the zip at the office. Or, they go to the Walgreens which does not come up under their zip.

It does say "save selected as pt's preferred pharmacy" with a check box. Is that supposed to change what is actually on the demographic page for the pref pharm?