Adding DrFirst Rcopia ePrescribing service

OpenEMR Development
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#1

We have been in talks with DrFirst about Rcopia. Rcopia is their eRx service. We need 100 signups to be able to bring this service module into the codebase. What we need is 100 providers to say that they would be willing to subscribe to the service. This will allow us to get the ball rolling. The monthly cost is estimated to be $45/mo/provider including ECPS. We don’t know the fee for credentialing as of right now.

Rcopia4-Features-and-Benefits.pdf (113.1 KB)

mBC-Statistics-Infographic.pdf (486.4 KB)

iPrescribe-Partner-7Benefits.pdf (332.9 KB)

DM me with your interest and questions. When we get 100 providers. That will green-light the project. Each week, I will report back here how many DMs we have to go to get that magic 100 commitments.

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#2

More for less.

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#3

We had 5 providers confirm they are interested in the Rcopia eRx service.
We have 95 more to go! Get your vote in today!

#4

Hi Sherwin-
This is pretty cool, an alternative eRx option for OpenEMR!
I did a little reading and developed a couple questions maybe you can answer.

  • is the pricing a new change or special for OpenEMR? I saw a review that talked about just eRx for $60.00/ month.
    Dr. First Software Reviews, Demo & Pricing - 2023
  • the rest of that review was informative also.
  • What sort of integration are we looking at with OpenEMR? How would it be ‘brought into the codebase’ of OpenEMR?
  • Would it read pt data to get allergies and demographics? Prevent needing to double- enter patient data into the Rcopia system?
    Can’t wait to get more info re: this, it could be great!
    Best- Harley
#5

Answers:

  1. Yes, it will be special pricing for OpenEMR. That is why I need the first 100 pledges. I just need to show that there is enough interest in the community to make it work the lift to bring it in.

  2. The integration will be a module and their system will be iFramed into OpenEMR and will be able to pass information back between the two systems.

  3. The two systems will communicate. Whatever data that can be passed from OpenEMR such as those you name off will be passed over. They are also a part of the SureScripts network and will have the entire patient prescription history.

#6

Is there an API available or is the iframe the only path?

#7

Yes, there is an API available. The shortest path to production would be the iframe. The API would take longer and require certification since the interface would have to meet FDA approval.

#8

Hi @juggernautsei,

I would be willing to support this if the path forward invoked the use of an API and not an iframe

#9

@robert.down I will discuss that in my next meeting with them. Thank you for your input.

#10

How will this affect certification, since OpenEMR is certified for erx with NewCrop? Will practices using Dr. First need to re-certify?

#11

@ken I believe this is a @brady.miller question. I will answer it with what I know. It will not affect the current certification. @adunsulag
New Crops will not be removed from the codebase, therefore the current certification will stand. It is just like when Weno was a part of the codebase. It did not change the certification of OpenEMR then.

#12

For those who are already a subscriber to their ERx, how are we treated?

#13

@CalvinTy everyone that is currently using eRx services will be treated as a new subscriber. All of the current patient data will still be accessible because it is on the same SureScripts network.

#14

UPDATE:
We are waiting for the contract to come through from DrFirst. After the contract is signed and fees paid. We are looking at an 8 wk window to build out the solution.

#15

i agree with @robert.down about the api vs iframe. My experience in trying to find an erx subscription for openemr has been that none of them are really part of the emr. They just have an iframe that opens part of their website and you interact with that. In the past this has led to (for me) data consistency problems between the emr and the erx system.

This may be off topic but, If openEmr could truly integrate and erx solution in a somewhat seamless way, oerm could charge a subscription fee for people to use the erx part. Then use those subscription funds to pay the dedicated developers of openemr to build out all the neat features they have on their wish list. A number of open source projects have paid subscription parts. A thoroughly integrated erx solution in oemr is something I’d buy a subscription to.

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#16

I can agree with your point and @robert.down point. The first time that I integrated Weno. I leveraged the existing prescription interface. I added the function to transmit and everything else stayed intact.
Then the thing that you two may not be aware of is that the FDA has to approve the interface. That is why the iFrame is used. Otherwise the interface that would be built out in OpenEMR would have to go through the FDA approval process and be certified to meet their standards. That has a cost associated with it. The easier thing to do is to use the iFrame approach because the service provider has already borne the cost of getting the FDA approval. Now, what I can hope to do is in the process of time if enough providers are using the Rcopia. We can look to leverage that to build out the interface in an API only design.

The inconsistency of data is a problem of poor design in my opinion. The communication between both the EMR and the eRx supplier should be seamless. Just like what was done with the telehealth signup where the credentials are passed back from the service provider and entered into the globals without the user having to do anything. (Thanks to @sjpadgett and @adunsulag ) The eRx should be the same so there is no data gap. These are the things that we will be looking to build with the Rcopia system. I have been assured that we can close the data gap and sync records between the two systems.

Contract came yesterday and we are starting our review of the service contract before signing.

#17

I don’t think it’s a FDA approval. I think it’s a DEA audit that has to be done by a third party. Depending on who you call for that it’s anywhere between $2000 and $5000 every couple years.

Not cheap and not something you do on a whim.

#18

@bearzillasquatch you are correct. It is DEA. Thank you for that correction. But you made my point why iFrame is used over the native interface that is in OEMR.

#19

Even if things are using iFrame you can use things such as window.postMessage or webhooks for data synchronization if the provider supports the options. I imagine that is what the service vendor is referring to when they say they will support data synchronization. I believe NewCrop has some form of this with @ken’s implementation.

Just a note for everyone, we currently are not 2015 ONC certified with any built in e-prescribe option. We had to do some additional development work and to get the e-prescribe updated that also carried with it some required updates to the patient portal and AMC/CQM updates which the project did not have enough funds to pay out on that. The e-prescribe option was certified in the 2014 version w/ NewCrop. People can still use NewCrop in a certified fashion as their web portal is certified to 2015 ONC but our 2015 certification does not include it. The project would like to have a certified e-prescribe option but that hasn’t been completed yet.

#20

@adunsulag
While we are in the build process can you share with me what needs to be done to build out the 2015 certification requirements? Might as well get that in too.