Free E-Prescribing for Florida Docs

HDM Breaking News, September 22, 2008

Health insurers Humana Inc. and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida are offering free Web-based electronic prescribing software and hardware to physicians in their networks in Florida.

The insurers are offering the technology of Prematics Inc., Vienna, Va., delivered through the Availity LLC claims clearinghouse in Jacksonville, Fla. Humana, BCBS of Florida and Health Care Service Corp., which operates Blues plans in Illinois, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas, own the clearinghouse.

Launching the free e-prescribing service comes after three months of testing in the Miami and Tampa areas.

Prematics enters partnerships with insurance companies to offer e-prescribing software and supporting technologies to physicians. The company's philosophy is to make it easy and free for physicians to adopt e-prescribing by having Prematics absorb initial costs and recoup them from insurer-paid transaction fees over a multi-year period.

Consequently, Prematics offers free to physicians the software, a server, PDAs, printers, a wireless network and Internet service necessary to adopt e-prescribing. The vendor also provides ongoing support.

More information is available at availity.com and prematics.com.

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