RelayHealth is making available an electronic medication history in order to eliminate “blind” encounters in hospital emergency rooms. IntegrateRx-Medication History is the new HIPAA-compliant nationwide service based on information extracted from insurance claims and/or prescription records. RelayHealth’s claims-processing network handles claims for 70% of the nation’s pharmacies.

The company has gained the support of leading national chains, pharmacy system vendors, and hospital medication reconciliation vendors for this initiative. Duane Reade is among the pharmacies that have agreed to make its patients’ medication histories available. “We recognize the importance of providing emergency room staff with critical information they need to make safe, informed treatment decisions,” says Jerry Ray, senior VP of pharmacy operations at Duane Reade.

Scott MacKenzie, president of RelayHealth’s Pharmacy Solutions Group, sees this centralized medication history as helping create a more connected healthcare system. “As the leader in pharmacy claims solutions, we have unique insight into a patient’s complete medication history. With the approval from our pharmacy customers, we can use this information to provide safety and efficiency in the medication reconciliation process,” he says.