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Workflow scenario to refill a
prescription
Reference Articles:
Informatics in Primary Care, ©2002,
"Workflow Automation with Electronic Medical Records", p152,
Cedric J. Priebe III, MD and Eric Rose, MD;
Medical Economics, June 18, 2004,
"I cut incoming calls 40 percent", 81:33,
Cynthia Troiano
Action: A patient calls your office to request a refill of hydrochlorothiazide for hypertension.
Response: The office receptionist opens the patient's Electronic Medical Record (EMR) and brings up the list of his current medications. He easily identifies hydrochlorohiazide as the medication the patient is requesting. He clicks the "Refill" button to indicate that a refill is being requested. With three clicks of the mouse, he fills out a short electronic form indicating who is requesting the refill (the patient), the status (urgent), and how the prescription is to be refilled (faxed to patient's pharmacy). This is logged with the refill request. He then checks the box that electronically transfers the task to the Nurse "In-box".
The nurse, on hold with a managed care company, notices that her "In-box" icon has appeared on her desktop. She clicks on the icon, and examines the refill request. Her office refill protocol appears automatically at the bottom of the screen for the requested medication. It indicates that the medication requires periodic monitoring of serum potassium and blood pressure. She clicks to open the Patient's EMR, and then clicks on the "laboratory" and "vital signs" sections. She finds that the patient had a normal potassium level and blood pressure two weeks previously. Per her refill protocol, she clicks the "printer icon" and the computer automatically faxes the prescription to the patient's pharmacy. She checks the box transferring the task to the Doctor "In-Box" for cosigning. The patient's Medication Refill History is automatically updated.
The physician notices that her Doctor "In-box" icon has appeared on her desktop. She clicks on the icon, and sees that the medication was refilled according to the office protocol. She signs the prescription with another click of the mouse. Since the refill was not requested during an office visit, the doctor checks a box and the patient is automatically billed for the $5 processing fee.
Video
Demonstration
Mean time between refill request and fulfillment: Two minutes.
This scenario uses Practice Today (Pro) version 05.01 ©Legacy Press 2005
[PTP Use Case#1 ©Legacy Press 2005]
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