Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey executives say the insurer will be the first in the nation to invest in electronic medical history technology for select network hospitals. The insurer will spend up to $500,000 on the project.
"The impressive and valuable part of this program is that when patients check into a hospital or emergency room their medication histories will be known in real time," said Richard Popiel, MD, vice president and chief medical officer, Horizon BCBSNJ. "Physicians will have immediate access to medications the patient is currently taking or may have taken in the past. This will make hospital visits safer, more efficient and reduce the chance of adverse drug reactions to medications administered to patients."
Chilton Memorial Hospital in Morris County is an early adopter. Horizon BCBSNJ is providing 85 percent of the costs of the technology up to $40,000. As many as eight network hospitals, which will receive varying amounts of financing, are expected to join the program by the end of 2008.
"We are thrilled to work with Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey to implement this technology that will make the emergency room a safer place for our patients," said Sal Ferrito, director of pharmacy at Chilton Memorial. "When time is of the essence, we are increasingly being faced with individuals on multiple medications that cannot recall the name or specifics about their medications. This system will provide us with their medication record, so that we are informed of the medications they are taking at home and can assure the correct continuity of care."
"We believe Chilton Memorial Hospital will experience an immediate impact on their workflow through utilization of the RcopiaAC system to access patient medication lists," said G. Cameron Deemer, president of the technology company DrFirst. "The patient's medication history will help the hospital avoid omissions, duplications, and interactions that may lead to medication errors or ADEs (adverse drug events) and will reduce administrative costs."