Speed Script to Provide Pharmacies with DrFirst’s SmartSuite Technology to Fix Quality and Workflow Issues Caused by Free Text Electronic Prescriptions
For the first time, pharmacies can benefit from the safety features and time savings of the SmartSig solution within their pharmacy management system
ROCKVILLE, Md., September 8, 2020 – Despite the widespread availability of electronic prescribing, pharmacists are still plagued by the need to manually correct free text found in patient directions (known as “sigs”) for 84% of new prescriptions, which can lead to errors, take time away from patients, and slow down pharmacy productivity. Now, pharmacies can successfully address these safety, service, and efficiency issues through a partnership announced today by health technology pioneer DrFirst and Speed Script, a Kansas-based pharmacy management system and services provider.
Through this agreement, Speed Script is integrating DrFirst’s SmartSig technology into its suite of pharmacy management solutions (PMS) used by community and long-term care pharmacies countrywide.
SmartSig will help improve safety and give pharmacists more time for patient counseling by automatically and accurately identifying details of an incoming prescription. Using DrFirst’s patented artificial intelligence (AI), SmartSig accurately translates 93% of patient directions, helping avoid medication errors and saving 10 seconds or more of work for each drug entered.
“A pharmacy processing 250 prescriptions per day could save more than 5.4 hours per month on these critical tasks alone,” noted Nick Barger, PharmD, principal pharmacist at DrFirst. “That’s more time for the staff to focus on medication therapy management, med sync, counseling, and other patient engagement opportunities.”
Like physicians, pharmacists often have to spend an excessive amount of time on administrative tasks that take away from direct patient interaction, according to Chuck Welch, chief technology officer at Speed Script. “By integrating SmartSig into our platform, we are giving pharmacists solutions that are proven to save time and enhance patient safety, allowing pharmacists to work at the top of their license and spend more time with patients. We are excited to be the first PMS provider to offer this technology to pharmacies.”
SmartSig is a component of DrFirst’s award-winning SmartSuite AI family of solutions, which hospitals and health systems have been using since 2015 to enhance the quality of more than six million medications per day. “Thanks to this new integration with Speed Script, pharmacies can now realize these safety and time-saving benefits,” said G. Cameron Deemer, president of DrFirst. “We look forward to working with Speed Script to help pharmacies increase efficiencies, reduce errors, and give their pharmacists more time to work directly with patients.”
For more information about SmartSuite and other DrFirst solutions for pharmacies, visit the DrFirst website.
About Speed Script
Speed Script has been providing flexible software solutions and adaptable technology services that enable independent pharmacies to effectively achieve their business goals. Our flagship products include Speed Script PRM, an all-inclusive pharmacy management system, Speed Script POS, an integrated point-of-sale system for managing front-end sales and Speed Script LTC (SSLTC), an electronic facility to pharmacy communication application – fully equipped with drug pass and eMAR technology for long-term care providers. For more than 40 years our defining attribute has been, and still remains, our dedication to sensational customer service.
About DrFirst
Since 2000, DrFirst has pioneered healthcare technology solutions and consulting services that securely connect people at touchpoints of care to improve patient outcomes. We create unconventional solutions that solve care collaboration, medication management, price transparency, and adherence challenges faced in healthcare. We unite the Healthiverse—the interconnected healthcare universe—by providing our clients with real-time access to the information they need, exactly when and how they need it, so patients get the best care possible. DrFirst solutions are used by nearly 300,000 healthcare professionals, including more than 100,000 prescribers, nearly half of the EHRs in the U.S., and more than 1,400 hospitals in the U.S. and Canada. To learn more, visit www.DrFirst.com and follow @DrFirst.
