• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

Zix Corporation Selected By Caritas Christi Health Care for Electronic Prescribing Program; Health System Sponsors 100 Physician PocketScript(R) Contract

Posted on: Wednesday, 26 July 2006, 15:00 CDT

Zix Corporation (ZixCorp(R)), (Nasdaq:ZIXI), the leader in hosted services for email encryption and e-prescribing, today announced that Caritas Christi Health Care, the second largest health care system in New England, has sponsored a minimum of 100 physicians for an e-prescribing program with the company's PocketScript service.

"Caritas recognized the value of PocketScript and how it would fit into our overall IT strategy. We have been following the progress of the e-prescribing market and have seen the positive impact on the delivery of care in programs across the country using leading applications like PocketScript," said Terry Dougherty, Vice President of Managed Care for Caritas. "E-prescribing is top of mind with our physicians as they continue to look for ways to improve overall efficiency and patient safety."

In a recent announcement highlighting findings from a new report published by the Institute of Medicine (IOM), medication errors were found to be among the most common medical errors, harming at least 1.5 million Americans per year. The report also states that paper-based prescribing is associated with high error rates and e-prescribing is safer because it eliminates problems with handwriting legibility and as a decision-support tool automatically alerts prescribers to possible interactions, allergies, and other potential problems. The report said that by 2008 all health care providers should have plans in place to write prescriptions electronically. By 2010 all providers should be using e-prescribing systems and all pharmacies should be able to receive prescriptions electronically.

"ZixCorp continues to lead the electronic prescribing industry with proven success that is gaining recognition beyond just the payor sponsor model," said Rick Spurr, chief executive officer for ZixCorp. "This contract with Caritas demonstrates that health systems are ready to step into the e-prescribing game and ensure that their practicing physicians are utilizing a service that saves lives and will ultimately change the healthcare industry."

The PocketScript program will enable Caritas physicians, through a wireless handheld PDA, to write prescriptions and then send them immediately and electronically to pharmacies improving patient convenience. Additionally, physicians save time and money using PocketScript with the bi-directional renewal capability because all pharmacist-initiated requests route through an office staff member prior to review and approval by the physician. With electronic pharmacist-initiated renewal requests both physicians and pharmacists expedite phone and fax communications. During the prescribing process, in real time, the application provides formulary information, a drug reference guide, drug-to-drug and drug-to-allergy checking, and patient-specific drug-dispensed lists.

About Caritas Christi Health Care

Established in 1985, Caritas Christi Health Care, the second largest health care system in New England, is a comprehensive, integrated health care delivery network providing community-based medicine and tertiary care in eastern Massachusetts, southern New Hampshire and Rhode Island. For more information, visit www.caritaschristi.org.

About Zix Corporation

Zix Corporation (ZixCorp(R)) is the leading provider of hosted email encryption and e-prescribing services. ZixCorp's email encryption services provide an easy and cost-effective way to ensure customer privacy and regulatory compliance for corporate email. Its PocketScript(R) e-prescribing service reduces costs and improves patient care by automating the prescription process between payers, doctors, and pharmacies. For more information, visit www.zixcorp.com.

Source: Business Wire

More News in this Category