Surescripts has partnered with DAW Systems, Inc to include veterinary medications within its e-prescribing service. Surescripts E-Prescribing for Veterinary Medications, which is the name of the new feature, will improve care for pets by improving medication adherence & reducing time spent by veterinarians on administrative tasks. These tasks include reducing the need for handwritten prescriptions, as well as phone calls or faxes between pharmacies and prescribers.

This new service will use the newest NCPDP SCRIPT Standard (Version 2023011), which was finalized in June 2024 by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

A study backed by Surescripts found that more pharmacists are electronically prescribing medications as they assist doctors in helping patients with chronic illnesses, which shows an interesting evolution in the ecosystem of primary care. Surescripts reported a 12.1% increase per year between 2018 and 2022 in prescribers outside of traditional primary care providers, while the number of clinicians who provide primary care grew by less than 1%.

As concerns about the gaps in primary care access rise, particularly in rural areas, this data shows a growing trend in the field where pharmacists have been lessening the burdens of physicians in a move towards more team-based care for patients. This change is welcomed by prescribers and pharmacists alike: Not only can help lessen physician burnout as they can focus on providing critical care, but this benefits patients who visit their pharmacists more often than their doctors.

Dr. Wendy Crouse, a Texas-based independent house call veterinarian is the first veterinarian who is testing e-prescribing software that is pharmacy-agnostic. This move is bridging the gap between pet and human doctors in terms of being able to prescribe medications without needing to phone pharmacies and manually calling in every prescription they write. A process that usually takes 30 to 45 minutes, and can require staff to hand write prescriptions that are then delivered by patients with days of delays, now takes 5 minutes or less with e-prescribing software.

This transition also allows Dr. Crouse to honor patient’s pharmacy requests more easily, whether it be a mom-and-pop shop or a larger pharmacy in a different area. An expanded pharmacy selection also makes medication pick-up easier for patients by being more forgiving to working schedules and distances. While e-prescribing for veterinarians does not include controlled substances like it does for human doctors right now, it is expected to be developed soon.