SureScripts, operator of the Pharmacy Health Information Exchange, has announced that it has acquired MedAvant Healthcare Solutions electronic prescribing network. This is the longest operating physician-to-pharmacy network in the country. The acquisition does not include MedAvant's physician desktop PreScribe application.

The two companies will transition prescription transactions over a 90-day period to the SureScripts network. With more than 95% of the nation's pharmacies certified for an electronic connection to the Pharmacy Health Information Exchange, the acquisition will allow physicians who were on the MedAvant network to reach far more pharmacies electronically through a single network. The combining of networks will also allow thousands of physicians to not only streamline, but also to expand their electronic prescribing connectivity. "This acquisition further demonstrates the strong momentum for the Pharmacy Health Information Exchange," says Kevin Hutchinson, president and CEO of SureScripts.

SureScripts has also been one of the health information exchanges selected by the Certification Commission for Healthcare Inform- ation Technology (CCHIT) to certify e-prescribing interoperability for electronic health record systems. Vendors of ambulatory office-based EHR products can satisfy the CCHIT certification requirements for e-prescribing and sharing of prescription information by completing certification for SureScripts' e-prescribing, e-refills, Rx history, and eligibility and formulary services.