In this article, we will cover common issues that may arise when using DrFirst to manage your ePrescribing needs and solutions to help resolve these issues.
Stuck on a loading screen
If this happens while you are sending prescriptions or viewing patient information, please try the following options:
- Switch to a new browser, such as Chrome or Firefox. You can also try this using incognito mode.
- Clear the cache and cookies from your primary browser.
- Restart your computer or check for any updates your computer requires.
- Update the security settings on your web browser.
Undeliverable prescriptions
Prescribers should check periodically for any undeliverable prescriptions, and proceed to:
- Acknowledge the undeliverable prescription.
- Recreate the prescription to send to the pharmacy.
View and acknowledge undeliverable prescriptions
There are 3 different ways to view undeliverable prescriptions:
Option 1: From Prescription Summary (for all patients)
1. Log in to DrFirst via the Rula provider portal.
2. Go to Prescription Summary.
3. Use the drop-down menus to filter for results, making sure to select for Undeliverable prescriptions specifically.
Recommended: Search across all providers, all patients (clear the patient field), all drug types, and custom date range, so that you can view all undeliverable prescriptions at once.
4. Click Search to view results.
5. Click on the circled checkmark icon to acknowledge the undeliverable prescription. Then, try prescribing again, using the guidelines below to prevent the prescription from being undeliverable again.
Option 2: From Notifications (for recent prescriptions)
1. Log in to DrFirst via the Rula provider portal.
2. Select the bell icon on the to right-hand corner to view notifications.
3. Select Rx Sent Undeliverable to view notifications for recent undeliverable prescriptions.
4. Click on the circled checkmark icon to acknowledge the undeliverable prescription. Then, try prescribing again, using the guidelines below to prevent the prescription from being undeliverable again.
Option 3: From Prescription Management (for one patient)
1. Log in to DrFirst via the Rula provider portal.
2. Search for a patient.
3. Once on the patient profile, scroll down to the Prescription Management section on the bottom.
4. Use the drop-down menus to filter for results, making sure to select for Undeliverable prescriptions specifically.
Recommended: Search across all drug types and all dates, so that you can view all undeliverable prescriptions for this patient.
5. Click Search to view results.
6. Click on the circled checkmark icon under "Actions" to acknowledge the undeliverable prescription. Then try prescribing again, using the guidelines below to prevent the prescription from being undeliverable again.
Prevent undeliverable prescriptions in the future
When creating a new prescription, prevent that prescription from being undeliverable by trying the following:
Use preset, drop-down menu options in DrFirst (not 'free text').
Undeliverable prescriptions may occur if you manually enter pharmacy or medication information.
Follow these best practices for pharmacy and medication information entry:
Pharmacy
- Pharmacies should be selected from the list of pharmacies in the drop-down menu.
- If the pharmacy is entered manually, prescriptions will get faxed to the fax number entered for that pharmacy.
- If the pharmacy is entered manually and does not have a valid fax number, the prescription will be marked undeliverable.
Medication
When creating a new prescription, always select a medication from the list of drugs that populate in the drop-down menu when you search by the medication name.
If you enter a medication using the 'free text' option:
- Most free-text prescriptions will not transmit electronically to the pharmacy.
- Rcopia will attempt to send non-controlled prescriptions by fax.
- Some free text prescriptions may be transmitted electronically to the pharmacy if they meet these exceptions:
- Compound or Supply/Equipment selected under the Drug Type drop-down menu and
- No selection under the Scheduled Drug drop-down menu
- Clinical alerts will not get triggered (e.g., drug-drug, drug-allergy interaction)
To avoid entering free text:
- Optimize search by typing the first few letters into the search field (e.g., ibu for ibuprofen or acet for acetaminophen).
- Confirm valid and up-to-date NDC is being transmitted from EMR/EHR.
- Avoid entering the dose with the drug name. The database does not recognize a drug name entered together with the dose strength in the search field.
- Submit a request to ask for a missing drug to be entered into the database.
Example of error message with free-text medication entry:
“Prescription [Diamox 250 mg] tablet for [Patient Name] cannot be sent electronically. Uncoded or unknown substance types cannot be sent electronically. Please modify the script, otherwise it will be faxed. Or it may be printed, signed, and handed to the patient.”
Check prescription transmission history regularly. Pharmacies must verify a prescription within 1 hour after it is sent.
1. Log in to DrFirst via the Rula provider portal.
2. Go to Prescription Summary.
3. Use the drop-down menus to filter results, making sure to select for Completed prescriptions specifically.
Recommended: Search across all providers, all patients, all drug types, and custom date range, so that you can view all undeliverable prescriptions at once.
4. Click Search to view results.
5. Click on a prescription to examine its transmission details.
6. A prescription must say verified under Transmission History to show that the pharmacy electronically acknowledged that it received the prescription within 1 hour of it transmitting.
- If a prescription is still failing to reach the pharmacy and needs to be sent immediately, please call the pharmacy directly.
- If transmission to the pharmacy continues to fail, contact DrFirst Support, as DrFirst has a 10 day limit on researching transmission data with the third party company.
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