A Diagnostics & Imaging Week

Quest Diagnostics (Lyndhurst, New Jersey) said that its healthcare information technology subsidiary, MedPlus, will test electronic prescribing standards in two new pilot programs starting this month.

MedPlus will conduct testing in pilot programs in New Jersey and Florida that are designed to research the function and interoperability of 10 technology standards over the course of 2006.

In collaboration with Partners In Care, a physician organization serving more than 850 private practice physicians throughout central New Jersey, and Aetna, MedPlus will test standards that facilitate electronic prescribing through its Care360 Physician Portal. It will deploy Care360 to select physicians participating with Partners In Care and Aetna.

MedPlus is participating in the pilot programs via SureScripts (Alexandria, Virginia), a provider of electronic prescribing services. SureScripts recently was awarded a $2 million grant to conduct tests of electronic prescribing as part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicare prescription drug benefit program.

The Care360 Physician Portal allows physicians to order diagnostic tests and review laboratory results online; prescribe medications; monitor patients' response to prescribed treatment plans; view clinical and administrative information from multiple sources; and share portions of a patient's file with medical colleagues in a manner that is consistent with HIPAA requirements.

The Care360 Physician Portal has been enhanced with new electronic prescribing features, allowing physicians to see critical patient information when prescribing medication. In one screen, physicians can now review available medication histories, many drug-to-drug and allergy-to-drug interactions, patient concerns, notes and messages from other physicians and recent laboratory test results. The physician can then electronically prescribe medications right from the patient chart, sending the prescription directly to a local pharmacy or pharmacy benefit management company.

The grant awards fulfill part of the requirements of the 2003 Medicare Modernization Act, which require pilot testing of electronic prescribing standards as a part of the Health and Human Services Medicare Part D drug benefit. Medicare Part D encourages physicians to transmit new prescription and refill requests electronically to a Medicare patient's choice of pharmacy.

The pilot projects will be evaluated by the Secretary of HHS, and a report of the evaluation will be sent to Congress by April 1, 2007, as required under the Medicare Modernization Act. Based on the results of the pilot project, the Secretary will adopt final uniform standards in 2008 in accordance with the timing prescribed by the statute.