UAE-based National Insurance Company (Daman) has adopted an automated e-prescription system that will enable its members to secure medication without paper-based prescriptions.

The new e-prescription system will be launched for members’ use later this year, following additional testing and adoption by more medical service providers.

The e-prescription system is expected to make patient care safer and more convenient for Daman members. As part of pre-launch testing, the first electronic prescription was successfully submitted from a medical center in Abu Dhabi in collaboration with Daman and later downloaded by a pharmacy to dispense the medication.

The system developed by Daman works over Shafafiya- the Health Authority - Abu Dhabi’s (Haad) dedicated transaction platform for healthcare operators and insurers.

“The incorporation of e-prescription into our claims system is demonstrative of Daman’s readiness in adopting the most advanced solutions to improve prescription safety and reduce medical errors,” said Dr Jad Aoun, Daman’s chief medical officer.

E-prescription services fall under the purview of the Pharmacy Benefit Management (PBM) initiative, which Haad has mandated for all health insurers to implement in 2012.

The initiative aims to have all pharmacies within Abu Dhabi seek an automated pre-approval from insurers on prescribed medication using Shafafiya.

“The first successful e-prescription is a great achievement for Abu Dhabi. Our data standards can now directly improve the quality, safety and convenience of patient care” said Dr Philipp Vetter, director of Strategy at Haad.

As part of a typical e-prescription transaction, the doctor is required to submit data of the prescription via an electronic processing system on the Shafafiya platform to Daman.

Daman’s automated system then applies the checks and verifies information about eligibility for the treatment coverage.

This process happens in seconds. If necessary, the doctor corrects the prescription and resubmits the request.

Once all checks on the prescription are cleared, the e-prescription is saved on the electronic database. The patient can then collect the drugs from the pharmacy, which can download the prescription and electronically send confirmation request to Daman’s automated system via Shafafiya’s PBM system for the specific drugs dispensed.

Dr Aoun added: “One of the biggest challenges in drug prescription is the inability to track how different drugs would impact a patient if co-administered without sufficient care and medical history.”

“However, e-prescription allows these checks to be completed at the doctor’s level, provided the patient’s prescription history is available to us. This improves the overall medical process and ensures greater care and diligence in drug administration.”

This process benefits all involved participants. Patients are protected against being prescribed unnecessary medication and are advised ahead of time about the eligibility of drug coverage, leading to a smoother and more convenient experience.

The medical service providers will benefit from important information about drug interactions, and possible duplicate therapy. Additionally, medical service providers benefit from fast processing of insurance claims, as these transactions are pre-approved automatically. – TradeArabia News Service