Medications are an essential component of post-surgery recovery for many oral surgery procedures. However, the current opioid crisis has forced the federal government to require all medical practices to adopt electronic prescription systems in the near future.
Electronic prescriptions
One of our most recent upgrades to MaxilloSoft is the ability to send electronic prescriptions.
As you are probably aware, most oral surgery procedures require the use of controlled substances post-surgery. The need to monitor the prescribing of controlled substances is something that’s becoming more commonplace as providers and local governments alike work to control the current opioid crisis in our country.
As such, controlled substances such as opioids are increasingly sent directly to the pharmacy from healthcare practices such as oral surgeries to be prescribed. The benefits of this? You can now track the number of controlled substance prescriptions a patient has received, decreasing the likelihood of over-prescribing, or doctor shopping.
Aside from helping tackle the opioid epidemic, there are several other advantages for using an e-prescription model for your oral surgery:
- Fewer medication errors from handwriting errors
- According to the FDA, there have been up to 95,000 prescription drug errors since 2000. Factors that contribute to these errors are drugs that sound similar or have similar spelling.
- Reduces your paperwork
- E-prescriptions expedite the administration tasks surrounding prescriptions and minimize waiting times since patients do not need to be around before a prescription is filled. The prescription doesn’t need to be entered manually on the computer. Freed from that task, your staff can now be more attentive to your patient’s immediate needs.
- Integrates prescription records with electronic medical records
- When combined with records systems that provide access to information about a patient’s allergies and drug history, MaxilloSoft’s e-software can reduce the likelihood of prescribing inappropriate medication.
There is one more significant advantage—staying compliant for the future. Recently, a bill was signed into law that requires the use of EPCS for all controlled substances under Medicare Part D by January 1, 2021.
- When combined with records systems that provide access to information about a patient’s allergies and drug history, MaxilloSoft’s e-software can reduce the likelihood of prescribing inappropriate medication.
All E-Rx programs currently available to oral surgeons require the doctor to enter their personal 4-digit PIN number for each prescription. This code is required each time an E-Rx is submitted, ensuring it is in fact, the doctor doing the submitting. In addition, any time a controlled substance is prescribed, a 6-digit unique code must also be generated using a ‘token’, a small key fob sized device that is assigned to the doctor.\. Alternatively, in lieu of a token, some E-Rx systems allow the doctor to generate the 6-digit code on their personal cellphone. MaxilloSoft gives the surgeon the choice, it works with both a token or a mobile device.
One unique way MaxilloSoft can simplify the electronic prescription process is through customized shortcuts.
Customized shortcuts
Depending on the specific procedure, you’re likely to prescribe the same set of medications to help the patient recover. MaxilloSoft understands this and allows you to create a customized prescriptions package so you don’t need to select the same two or three drugs over and over.
For instance, you can create a customized prescription list called ‘Wisdom teeth extraction’ and populate it with the medication you would usually prescribe. Within these customized prescriptions you can easily modify dosage and add/delete medications as needed. It’s a real time saver when you’re talking about 15-20 cases per day.
As you can see, this significantly streamlines the prescription process. You no longer need to spend valuable time searching the system for the appropriate drugs, and prescriptions are standardized, yet easily modified. And as always, MaxilloSoft provides easy access to your patient’s medical records on a separate tab. This makes it easy for you to check for potential drug interactions and allergies.
MaxilloSoft makes your practice more efficient
Improving the efficiency and productivity of your oral surgery is the core goal of MaxilloSoft. The introduction of electronic prescriptions is yet another way we can help you do so.
