Electronic health records systems developer Drchrono has announced the launch of a “native app” for Apple iPads and iPhones to electronically prescribe controlled substances.
The Mountain View, Calif.-based company, which focuses on putting its EHR on mobile devices, will make the app available over the internet, initially to about 3,000 customers, said Daniel Kivatinos, Drchrono's COO and co-founder.
The app has been tested and certified through a program of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency similar to the one used for EHRs, Kivatino said.
It should ease prescribers' workflows, which have been disrupted as states embraced electronic prescribing for controlled substances, or EPCS.
After a slow start, EPCS is now allowed in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. With the battle ongoing against the abuse of opiates, New York required all prescriptions for Schedule II, III and IV controlled substances be transmitted electronically. Accordingly, EPCS volume on the SureScripts electronic prescription drug network has zoomed from 1.67 million in 2014 to 12.8 million in 2015, Surescripts reports.
Drchrono claims its self-developed app is the first native app for iPads and iPhones that can handle prescriptions for scheduled drugs. It enables the app to access device functions such as Apple maps.
The one drawback with the new app is an intense identity authentication is needed to use it. That was a Drug Enforcement Administration requirement, Kivatino said.
But otherwise the user experience is improved over its predecessor eRx tool, which used iFrame technology that “doesn't feel like an app. It feels like a web page,” Kivatinos said.
With a native app, “the difference is the touch and fee and responsiveness,” he said.
