Program Advocates for Timely Prescription Refills

QS/1 Data System's Medication Compliance program is now available. In its initial phase, the program's goal is to help pharmacists encourage patients to fill prescriptions on time. Research has indicated that noncompliance results in 125,000 deaths annually and up to 25% of the hospital and nursing home admissions in the United States alone. Therefore, QS/1 is offering the program to reduce the danger and potential cost associated with patients not taking medications as directed.

The initial phase will require a pharmacy to have a QS/1 CornerDrugstore Web site or the company's Online Prescription Refill Web Service. The program only requires that patients register to receive these notices. After registering, refill reminders are automatically sent to the patient on the pharmacy's behalf. Because refill messages must be timely to effectively encourage patients to take action, the program submits an e-mail notification based on the fill date and the days' supply. The notification should happen after the point a prescription can be legally filled, but before the prescription runs out. Once patients receive a reminder, they can submit their refill request through the pharmacy's Web site.

QS/1 is offering several marketing tools to help pharmacists encourage their patients to receive e-mail refill reminders. The company offers a flyer printed with the pharmacy's URL and created for the pharmacy to include in every new prescription bag.