Rockville, Maryland-based DrFirst, which is known for healthcare SaaS offerings ranging from medication management to clinical communications, has announced a relaunch of a mobile app designed to help physicians comply with state prescription drug monitoring program requirements when prescribing treatments.
DrFirst acquired the original iPrescribe.net app back in early 2016, shortly after announcing a $42 million round of financing in the year prior.
The newly relaunched version of the app can be used with most ambulatory and acute EHRs, with all prescriptions handled through the app automatically updated to a patient’s medication history. According to the company, the streamlined workflow provided by the tool allows providers to complete their prescribing process three times quicker than usual.
"We designed iPrescribe to work intuitively on any mobile device and enable physicians to confidently access all the tools and information needed to provide optimal care, at any point in their workflow they choose," G. Cameron Deemer, president of DrFirst, said in a statement. "iPrescribe brings back the convenience of the traditional paper prescribing pad, but with the power to manage prescriptions safely and efficiently.”
DrFirst also pitches the new app as a resource against opioid overprescription. Easily viewing a patient’s opioid prescription history within a single workflow allows physicians to make more informed decisions when determining care. Further, the ability to easily see patient-specific drug prices can help physicians save their patients money while choosing treatments they are more likely to use.
"I can prescribe lower initial quantities of opioids to eliminate over-supply, because I know I can easily follow the initial prescription with additional small amounts of pain killers for patients based on valid need, at any time,” Dr. Mark Komorowski, a plastic surgeon practicing in Michigan, said in a statement from DrFirst. "The application has allowed me to more effectively control opioid supply while still attending to individual patient situations.”
In May of last year, DrFirst announced a partnership with GoodRx specifically intended to reduce the impact of the high costs of medication adherence. Outside of prescription-focused services, the company made another deal in January 2017 with Visibility Rx that was focused on clinical trial recruitment and communication.
