Cerner Corporation continues to zero in on price transparency in its EHR platform. Cerner Corporation has implemented price transparency capabilities into its EHR, in an effort to help providers choose the most cost-effective medication for its patients.
Approximately 30 percent of prescriptions are not fulfilled by patients after leaving the provider’s office because of the lack of price transparency or cost of medication. Using technology from RxRevu, Cerner hopes to address that issue and drive better medication adherence.
“As healthcare costs continue to rise, consumer demand for prescription price transparency is greater than ever,” says Kashif Rathore, vice president of interoperability at Cerner.
“Supporting healthcare providers with pricing information is key to helping them make more informed care decisions and improve the overall experience for patients,” continued Rathore. “Our work with RxRevu will help us continue to deliver technology that helps providers directly engage with patients to find the most appropriate medication at a price that works for them.”
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Providers are now able to see the cost of medication within the Cerner EHR, allowing them to provide the patient with the cost of the medication and review financial information at the point of prescription to make sure the cost of the medication is affordable.
Providers can also access the patients’ benefit information to make price-friendly alternatives within the EHR.
“Cerner and RxRevu have been at the forefront of the cost transparency movement since the beginning. Working together allows our organizations to more quickly honor commitments to helping healthcare providers make clinically and financially sound prescribing decisions for millions of patients,” said Carm Huntress, co-founder and CEO of RxRevu.
“Patients’ insurance plans are too vast and ever-changing for providers to stay current,” said Huntress. “Integrating real-time, patient-specific, benefit information from our pharmacy benefit manager network into EHR platforms like Cerner Millennium supports us to improve patient outcomes through better prescribing.”
This partnership comes as the medical industry continues to focus on patient financial responsibility.
The rise of out-of-pocket costs for inpatient, outpatient, and emergency department care has increased 12 percent from 2017 to 2018, according to data from TransUnion Healthcare. Although there has been less inpatient care utilization, patients are facing significant out-of-pocket costs that are confusing for them and potentially financially crippling.
“For several years, patients have faced a greater cost burden as healthcare expenses shifted from payers to patients,” Dave Wojczynski, President of TransUnion Healthcare, said of the study’s findings at the time. “As a result, patients are now making decisions about where they receive care based on costs – not just the quality of care they may receive.”
Rising costs impact more than just the patient. Research shows that as patient financial responsibility rises, the likelihood of collecting patient payments in a timely manner significantly decreases.
Other EHR vendors are also working to integrate drug price transparency tools into their platforms.
Oregon Health & Science University Health system recently implemented a drug pricing tool into its Epic Systems EHR that will help providers be more transparent with its patients.
Using this drug price transparency tool, clinicians can easily compare the price of the medication for the patient at the time of prescription. The tool automatically factors in information that is not typically available to the patient right away such as the price of the co-pay, deductibles, and need for prior authorization.
“Patients will ask me, ‘Is it expensive?’ And my answer is usually, ‘That’s difficult to say,’” said Steve Kassakian, MD, associate chief health information officer at OHSU School of Medicine. “Medication costs are really, really challenging. There’s never been an ability for me to see the cost in real-time.”
Source: EHR Intelligence