Through the partnership, a pharmacist can visit the Surescripts website to apply for authorized access to a free, cloud-based Allscripts application. The application allows pharmacists to obtain patient consent to view the patient’s 12-month medication history.
The companies’ goal is to support patients whose prescriptions were disrupted during the tropical storm. In the days following Harvey, Surescripts noted a 93 percent drop in the volume of prescriptions delivered, according to a company statement. Surescripts hypothesized pharmacy closures or patient displacement may have caused the decrease.
“During a natural disaster this information is critical for pharmacists who may need to deliver medications outside of normal practice patterns,” said Tom Skelton, CEO of Surescripts. “In some situations, it is a matter of life or death for critically ill patients who have been displaced and may have lost their medications or can’t recall their medication list.”
The collaboration is partially enabled by the federal government’s declaration of a public health emergency in Texas and Louisiana last month, which granted increased flexibilities to meet emergency health needs.
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