eRx Network Joins National ePrescribing Patient Safety Initiative as Connectivity Partner

    FORT WORTH, Texas and CHICAGO, July 15 /EMWNews-FirstCall/ -- eRx

Network, LLC(R), a premier retail pharmacy provider of electronic services,

and Allscripts, the leading provider of clinical software, connectivity and

information solutions that physicians use to improve healthcare, today

announced an agreement to provide connectivity between eRx Network's eRx

Pad(R) pharmacy communication network and Allscripts electronic prescribing

solutions.



    



    Additionally, eRx Network will become a connectivity sponsor of the

National ePrescribing Patient Safety Initiative(TM) (NEPSI(TM)), a

coalition of leading healthcare and technology companies, led by Allscripts

and Dell Computers. NEPSI is dedicated to eliminating preventable

medication errors by providing state-of-the-art electronic prescribing

technology at no cost to every licensed prescriber in America.



    "We are excited to partner with Allscripts and support the NEPSI

coalition," said Murray Lyle, President and Chief Operating Officer, eRx

Network, LLC. "Our agreement provides direct connectivity between our

pharmacy clients and physicians utilizing Allscripts e-prescribing

solutions, enhancing value for all stakeholders."



    eRx Network maintains a secure, reliable and performance-oriented

network called eRx Pad(R) for connecting e-commerce applications to U.S.

pharmacies. The network supports NCPDP Script standard and has provided

pharmacy connectivity to pharmacy chains and independent community

pharmacies for eight years.



    "We're pleased to welcome eRx Network to the NEPSI coalition," said

Glen Tullman, Co-Chair of NEPSI and Chief Executive Officer of Allscripts.

"Our partnership marks another step towards fulfilling the NEPSI goal of

enabling every physician in America to prescribe electronically in order to

enhance patient safety and to transmit prescriptions to their patient's

pharmacy of choice."



    The NEPSI coalition was launched last year to address the public crisis

surrounding preventable medication errors, which injure at least 1.5

million Americans and claim more than 7,000 lives each year, according to

the non-profit Institute of Medicine (IOM), part of the National Academies

of Science. The IOM's report concluded that e-prescribing definitely

improves safety over paper prescriptions, but acknowledges that fewer than

10 percent of the nation's physicians use the technology today, largely

because of cost.



    NEPSI removes that barrier by providing safe, simple and secure

e-prescribing software at no cost to any licensed prescriber. The Web-based

Allscripts solution provided by NEPSI cuts the risk of medication errors by

automating the prescribing process and alerting physicians to possibly

dangerous drug interactions or side effects. The solution also reduces the

risk of a misread prescription and helps save money by making physicians

aware of cheaper generic drug options. Used today by thousands of

healthcare professionals from across the US, Allscripts e-prescribing from

NEPSI requires no download, no new hardware, and minimal training.



    Interested prescribers can visit the NEPSI web site,

http://www.nationaleRx.com, to register for the program.

    About NEPSI



    The National ePrescribing Patient Safety Initiative (NEPSI) is a

coalition of the nation's most prominent technology companies and leading

healthcare organizations dedicated to improving patient safety by providing

free access to simple, safe and secure electronic prescribing for every

physician in America. NEPSI includes national sponsors Allscripts and Dell;

executive sponsors Cisco, Fujitsu, Microsoft, NaviMedix, Quest Diagnostics,

Sprint Nextel and Wolters Kluwer Health; healthcare sponsors Aetna, Horizon

BCBS of New Jersey and WellPoint; connectivity sponsors eRx Network, LLC

and SureScripts-RxHUB; and search sponsor Google. Several integrated

delivery networks and physician groups across the US are leading the

rollout of the NEPSI electronic prescribing solution, by Allscripts, within

their states and regions. For more information, visit

http://www.NationaleRx.com.



    About Allscripts



    Allscripts (Nasdaq: MDRX) is the leading provider of clinical software,

connectivity and information solutions that physicians use to improve

healthcare. The company's unique solutions inform, connect and transform

healthcare, delivering improved care at lower cost. More than 40,000

physicians and thousands of other healthcare professionals in clinics,

hospitals and extended care facilities nationwide utilize Allscripts to

automate everyday tasks such as writing prescriptions, documenting patient

care, managing billing and scheduling, and safely discharging patients, as

well as to connect with key information and stakeholders in the healthcare

system. To learn more, visit http://www.allscripts.com.



    This announcement may contain forward-looking statements about

Allscripts Healthcare Solutions that involve risks and uncertainties. These

statements are developed by combining currently available information with

Allscripts beliefs and assumptions. Forward-looking statements do not

guarantee future performance. Because Allscripts cannot predict all of the

risks and uncertainties that may affect it, or control the ones it does

predict, Allscripts' actual results may be materially different from the

results expressed in its forward-looking statements. For a more complete

discussion of the risks, uncertainties and assumptions that may affect

Allscripts, see the Company's 2007 Annual Report on Form 10-K, available

through the Web site maintained by the Securities and Exchange Commission

at http://www.sec.gov.



    About eRx Network



    eRx Network is a premier provider to the U.S. pharmacy industry of a

secure, reliable and performance oriented network for e-commerce

applications. eRx provides a number of profitability and productivity

enhancing services including claim switching of third party claims, value

proven pre- and post-edit services, claims reconciliation services,

electronic prescribing solutions, Medicare/Medicaid DME billing, and

Medicare and Commercial eligibility verification. For more information

about eRx Network, call toll free 1-866-379-6389 or visit

http://www.erxnetwork.com.



    eRx(R) is a federally registered trademark belonging to eRx Network,

LLC, and Allscripts' use is pursuant to license.