Page 1 of 6 patient medical records and eligibility available at the moment of prescribing and dispensing the medication. Serving the insured population in Dubai What is an e-prescription? It is the computer-based electronic generation, transmission and dispensing of a medication prescription, taking the place of paper prescription. In Dubai, e-prescribing would allow a physician to electronically transmit a prescription to the erx Hub (located at DHA s DHPO system), getting coverage feedback from insurance company s realtime before patient leaves physician s office. Later when patient visit the pharmacy, the pharmacist would download the prescription electronically and obtain coverage authorization from insurance company at time of dispensing the medication real time. The e-prescription Initiative allows electronic transfer and sharing of medical prescriptions among different medical entities across the Emirate swiftly and in few clicks. By providing interactive, medical tips and clinical notifications, e-prescription significantly helps in reducing medical errors and maximizes patient health and safety. With linking it to insurance coverage checks at time of prescribing and dispensing, e-prescription greatly improves efficiency of the healthcare system, as well as assist health insurance companies manage their drug expenditure costs. Moreover, patient waiting at time of dispensing is expected to be reduced significantly, eliminating faxes for authorization from insurance companies and wait time for Why e-prescription? Medications are anticipated to relief patient sufferings. Nonetheless, if used inappropriately they can cause serious harm. E-prescription enhances the process of prescribing medicines by replacing the outdated paper-based methods with a more accurate and efficient tools. It outlines the ability to send error-free of handwriting mistakes, accurate, and understandable prescriptions electronically from the physician to the pharmacy. E-prescribing is meant to reduce the risks associated with traditional prescription script writing. Moreover, being a supportive decision-making tool by making
Page 2 of 6 pharmacy physician call backs. How does e-prescription work in Dubai? The E-prescription system consists of: Electronic prescribing of medicines: the physician, and after diagnosing the patient, electronically prescribes the medication. This can be done either using the online erx application (as part of the ProviderLink at EClaimLink.ae) available free of charge for Dubai physicians, or via the web services integrated directly into s own HIS and CMS. The physician does so by entering the insured member identification number, the diagnosis codes in addition to the medicines prescribed, which can be identified either by its scientific names or commercial names, and its use instructions. Immediately, the e-prescription connects with erx Hub located in the DHPO to post it for comments from regulator, in addition to obtaining coverage information from the insurance company real time and download later by pharmacy. The patient receives a prescription number that will be sent also to his/her email (if applicable) which will be used as a reference to dispense the medicine at the pharmacy. Electronic dispensing of medicines: When the patient heads to the pharmacy to get his medication dispensed, the pharmacist will request from the patient the reference prescription number together with the insurance member card. The pharmacist then enters the reference number with the member ID number into the system and retrieves the indicated prescription instantly from the erx Hub. Also, the pharmacy should obtain real time authorization from the insurance company to dispense the medication with coverage information and clinical checks. At time of dispensing the drug a claim is sent to DHPO and the e-prescription is closed and is no longer available for download again unless it has a refill. Key Features and benefits for the healthcare system Minimize medical mistakes in prescribing and dispensing. Reduce fraud, abuse and waste. Monitor drugs utilization more efficiently in Dubai. Reduce patients wait time at pharmacies significantly. Inform patients about insurance coverage at physician office and pharmacy real time. Important dates for the e- Prescription eclaimlink Initiative Pharmacy Insurance Company Medication e-authorization Voluntary: July 1, 2013 erx Hub, and Insurance Company feedback on erx Voluntary: October 1, 2013 Pharmacy & physician, & Insurance Company erx implementation Mandatory: January 1, 2014 What are the system requirements for e-prescription? Eligible physicians and pharmacists with eclaimlink active registrations can use it. Those must use computers or mobile systems and be able to connect to the Internet. Payers are expected to integrate directly with the DHPO to provide real time authorization.
Page 3 of 6 How to use the e-prescription as a Log in into the system through erx s portal on eclaimlink or by using your own system with web services with DHPO. Request the health insurance member card from your patient. Enter diagnosis into the system. Prescribe medication for the patient (by scientific name or commercial name with strength and dosage form). Fill the directions (quantity, frequency, route of admin & instruction). Post the prescription and get insurance company feedback on coverage real-time. Give the erx reference number to the patient to take to pharmacy (can print, email, sms and send to patient mobile apps). 5 - s receives e-prescription number 1 2 - Posts erx on erxhub on DHPO - Enters and Validates Information - Checks patients insurance coverage 4 - Give patient a Prescription number av. response 30 seconds DHPO erx Hub Health Insurance Company/ Payer 3 - Provides patient benefit coverage - Provides prescription eligibility - Provides clinical checks feedback - Posts response to erx
Page 4 of 6 How to use the e-prescription as a Pharmacist Log in into the system through erx Pharmacist portal on eclaimlink or by using your own system with web services with DHPO. Request the health insurance member card from patient. Request erx reference number from patient. Enter the two numbers into the system. The system will display the prescribed medication by the authorized physician. Identify the medication to dispense. Request Real-time e-authorization from insurance company. Get the consent of the patient on the medicine patient share coverage. Dispense the medicine and claim real-time. The claim closes the e-rx at erx Hub and the erx is no longer downloadable unless has refill. 5 - s receives dispensed medication 1 Pharmacy Pharmacist 2 - Receives from patient e-prescription number and membership insurance card - Downloads erx from erxhub 3 - Requests e-authorization from Payer - Dispenses drugs and posts claim av. response 30 seconds DHPO erx Hub Health Insurance Company/ Payer 4 - Provides patient benefit coverage - Provides prescription eligibility - Provides clinical checks feedback
Page 5 of 6 How e-prescription works for a 1. Visit the authorized physicians. 2. Give the physician your health insurance member card. 3. Check the coverage feedback from insurance company real-time from erx response. 4. Get the e-rx reference number. 5. Recommended to immediately go to the pharmacy as the approvals received at the physician clinic are real time advisory. 6. Give the pharmacist the health insurance member card together with the e-rx reference number. 7. The pharmacist will retrieve the e- prescription through the system real-time 8. You will agree with the pharmacist on the medicines 9. The agreed on medication will be dispensed 10. The process at physician office or at pharmacy to upload/download and obtain approvals should be real-time and in seconds. Benefits: You will know the medicines you are eligible for under your insurance plan even before you leave the physician s office. portal to track all your activities Checks previous drugs entered on the system and sends alerts to the physician & pharmacist prior to prescribing & dispensing any medicine. FAQ: Note: Very minimal waiting time at the pharmacy to dispense the medication Can I still choose my pharmacy? Yes. This will not affect your choice of pharmacy. You can have your medicine supplied from your preferred pharmacy. Who can access my records? Is my privacy protected? All the information is processed with high security and confidentiality. Other than those who need to know information to meet your health care need will be able to access your records. If the medication is not covered under your insurance plan you have the choice of getting the medication at full price. How to use e- Prescription as a Payer Health Insurance Company (Payer) should respond to both s and Pharmacists in timely manner within 1 to 60 seconds (average 30 seconds or less). Payer is to provide s and Pharmacists with: 1. benefit coverage 2. Prescription eligibility 3. Clinical checks feedback
Page 6 of 6 Then, Payer shall post erx responses to both s and Pharmacists. 4 - s receives e-prescription number 1 2 - Posts erx on erxhub on DHPO - Enters and Validates Information - Checks patients insurance coverage 3 - Give patient a Prescription number 8 - s receives dispensed medication 5 Pharmacy 6 - Receives from patient e-prescription number and membership insurance card - Downloads erx from erxhub Pharmacist 7 - Requests e-authorization from Payer - Dispenses drugs and posts claim How the e-prescription is linked with DHA? Dubai Health authorities have established related customized international health standards. The DHA monitors all transmitted information the time it reaches its DHPO through the Drug Analysis and Control System (DACS) and facilitate the transactions. For more information Visit: www.eclaimlink.ae Or call: 600 522 004, and ask about erx Initiative eclaimlink is a project of the Dubai Health Authority.