SAN MATEO, Calif., and LEXINGTON, Ky., April 6 /PRNewswire/ -- Bluegrass Family Health and ePocrates, Inc. announced today that physicians and other health care professionals throughout the Bluegrass provider network -- which spans Kentucky, Indiana, Tennessee and West Virginia -- will now be able to access ePocrates’ comprehensive drug and clinical reference information along with the most up-to-date Bluegrass formulary (list of covered drugs) right on their handheld computer or personal digital assistant (PDA).
Accessing both clinical and health plan information via one fully integrated source not only increases the physicians’ workflow efficiency by reducing the pharmacy callbacks, but also saves the patients’ time by not having to re-prescribe prescriptions and also money by prescribing medication with the lowest co-pay. Prescribing physicians can also look up clinical information such as dosing and drug interactions, at the point-of-care before a prescription is written, directly enhancing patient safety and ultimately satisfaction.
“Bluegrass is focused on deploying technology that not only increases efficiency and lowers costs, but also directly benefits the patient. The ePocrates software will allow physicians to spend more time with their patients and less time searching for formulary guidelines. The physician’s questions can be answered with a touch of a button,” said Dr. Jaudon Behrman, Chief Medical Officer for Bluegrass. “In addition to the formulary listing, ePocrates technology allows the physician to view generic drug information, drug interactions, contraindications and adverse reactions. This software will help prevent medication errors and allow physicians to spend more quality time with their patients.”
Dr. Behrman also notes that many Bluegrass participating physicians are already using ePocrates’ drug reference applications. Adding Bluegrass-specific formulary information to ePocrates is an added benefit to the plan’s providers and, ultimately, its members.
Physicians and other health care professionals can access the Bluegrass formulary through ePocrates’ hand-held drug reference applications designed for the Palm OS and Pocket PC platforms and through ePocrates Rx Online(TM) available for Internet-connected desktop computers. All ePocrates products are easily downloadable via the Internet and are currently used by more than 140,000 physicians across the United States. In Kentucky specifically, one-quarter of physicians subscribe to ePocrates drug reference applications.
“Bringing together ePocrates respected drug and clinical references with the latest Bluegrass formulary information will certainly be welcomed and quickly put to use by the many physicians in Kentucky and nearby states,” said Andrew Burns, ePocrates vice president of health services. “The benefits are apparent: formulary compliance will be enhanced, administrative burdens on physicians and pharmacists reduced, and very importantly, patient safety and satisfaction increased, definitely a win-win for everyone.”
In fact, a case study by ePocrates on the impact of handheld formulary information, integrated with clinical content, on the prescribing choices and workflow of physicians was presented at an Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy conference. The case study, which was prepared with participation from two medical groups in Connecticut, showed a 64 percent reduction in phone calls from the pharmacy, and an 88 percent greater likelihood that the physician would refer to formulary information provided on a handheld device before prescribing, as compared to a paper reference.
About Bluegrass Family Health
Established in 1993, Bluegrass Family Health is a Kentucky-based, not-for-profit company with a comprehensive provider network, offering competitive rates and community-based service. Bluegrass Family Health includes access to more than 5,538 physicians and 88 hospitals in areas across Kentucky. Their headquarters are located at 651 Perimeter Drive, Lexington, KY 40517 and in Louisville at 9750 Ormsby Station Road, Louisville, KY 40223. For more information on Bluegrass Family Health, visit http://www.bgfh.com/.
About ePocrates, Inc.
San Mateo, CA -based ePocrates Inc. is the leader in providing clinical information to physicians and other health care professionals at the point of care. Over 340,000 health care professionals, including over 140,000 U.S. physicians, currently subscribe to ePocrates clinical reference applications which include the ePocrates Rx(R) drug references: ePocrates Rx, its core clinical reference guide; ePocrates Rx Pro(TM), which also includes an herbal database, an infectious disease application and dosing calculator; ePocrates Rx Online(TM), which extends access via the Internet and provides additional features like printable patient education information; and the ePocrates Dx(TM) medical diagnostic and therapeutic reference based on content from the editor of 5-Minute Clinical Consult. ePocrates also provides formulary information from health plans, hospitals, Medicaid agencies and pharmacy benefit management (PBM) companies that represent over 95 million individuals, and messaging, market research and clinical trial recruitment services. For more information on ePocrates, visit http://www.epocrates.com/.
ePocrates, Inc. and Bluegrass Family Health
CONTACT: Katherine Thornberry of ePocrates Public Relations,+1-650-227-1713, or kthornberry@epocrates.com; or Kimberly Broyles, Pharm D,Clinical Coordinator of Bluegrass Family Health Pharmacy Program,+1-859-335-3719, or kimberly.broyles@bgfh.org
Web site: http://www.bgfh.com/
Web site: http://www.epocrates.com/
