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patient medical records and eligibility available at

the moment of prescribing and dispensing the
medication.

Serving the insured population in Dubai

What is an e-Prescription?
It is the computer-based electronic generation,
transmission and dispensing of a medication
prescription, taking the place of paper prescription.
In Dubai, e-prescribing would allow a physician to
electronically transmit a prescription to the eRx
Hub (located at DHAs DHPO system), getting
coverage feedback from insurance companys realtime before patient leaves physicians office. Later
when patient visit the pharmacy, the pharmacist
would download the prescription electronically and
obtain coverage authorization from insurance
company at time of dispensing the medication real
time.

Why e-Prescription?
Medications are anticipated to relief patient
sufferings. Nonetheless, if used inappropriately
they can cause serious harm.
E-prescription enhances the process of prescribing
medicines by replacing the outdated paper-based
methods with a more accurate and efficient tools.
It outlines the ability to send error-free of
handwriting
mistakes,
accurate,
and
understandable prescriptions electronically from
the physician to the pharmacy. E-prescribing is
meant to reduce the risks associated with
traditional prescription script writing. Moreover,
being a supportive decision-making tool by making
eRx Initiative Overview v1.0 - May 4, 2013

The e-Prescription Initiative allows electronic

transfer and sharing of medical prescriptions
among different medical entities across the
Emirate swiftly and in few clicks.
By providing interactive, medical tips and clinical
notifications, e-prescription significantly helps in
reducing medical errors and maximizes patient
health and safety. With linking it to insurance
coverage checks at time of prescribing and
dispensing, e-prescription greatly improves
efficiency of the healthcare system, as well as assist
health insurance companies manage their drug
expenditure costs. Moreover, patient waiting at
time of dispensing is expected to be reduced
significantly, eliminating faxes for authorization
from insurance companies and wait time for

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pharmacy physician call backs.

How does e-Prescription work in

Dubai?
The E-prescription system consists of:
Electronic prescribing of medicines: the physician,
and after diagnosing the patient, electronically
prescribes the medication. This can be done either
using the online eRx Physician application (as part
of the ProviderLink at EClaimLink.ae) available free
of charge for Dubai physicians, or via the web
services integrated directly into Physicians own HIS
and CMS. The physician does so by entering the
insured member identification number, the
diagnosis codes in addition to the medicines
prescribed, which can be identified either by its
scientific names or commercial names, and its use
instructions.
Immediately, the e-prescription
connects with eRX Hub located in the DHPO to post
it for comments from regulator, in addition to
obtaining coverage information from the insurance
company real time and download later by
pharmacy. The patient receives a prescription
number that will be sent also to his/her email (if
applicable) which will be used as a reference to
dispense the medicine at the pharmacy.
Electronic dispensing of medicines: When the
patient heads to the pharmacy to get his
medication dispensed, the pharmacist will request
from the patient the reference prescription
number together with the insurance member card.
The pharmacist then enters the reference number
with the member ID number into the system and
retrieves the indicated prescription instantly from
the eRx Hub. Also, the pharmacy should obtain real
time authorization from the insurance company to
dispense the medication with coverage information
and clinical checks. At time of dispensing the drug a
eRx Initiative Overview v1.0 - May 4, 2013

claim is sent to DHPO and the e-prescription is

closed and is no longer available for download
again unless it has a refill.

Key Features and benefits for the

healthcare system

Minimize medical mistakes in prescribing

and dispensing.

Reduce fraud, abuse and waste.

Monitor drugs utilization more efficiently in

Dubai.

Reduce patients wait time at pharmacies

significantly.
Inform patients about insurance coverage
at physician office and pharmacy real time.

Important dates for the ePrescription eClaimLink Initiative

Pharmacy Insurance Company Medication

e-Authorization Voluntary: July 1, 2013
Physician eRx Hub, and Insurance
Company feedback on eRx Voluntary:
October 1, 2013
Pharmacy & physician, & Insurance
Company
eRx
implementation

Mandatory: January 1, 2014

What are the system

requirements for e-prescription?
Eligible physicians and pharmacists with
eClaimLink active registrations can use it.
Those must use computers or mobile systems
and be able to connect to the Internet. Payers
are expected to integrate directly with the
DHPO to provide real time authorization.

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How to use the e-Prescription as a Physician

Log in into the system through eRx Physicians portal on eClaimLink or by using your own system with
web services with DHPO.
Request the health insurance member card from your patient.

Enter diagnosis into the system.

Prescribe medication for the patient (by scientific name or commercial name with strength and dosage
form).
Fill the directions (quantity, frequency, route of admin & instruction).

Post the prescription and get insurance company feedback on coverage real-time.

Give the eRx reference number to the patient to take to pharmacy (can print, email, sms and send to
patient mobile apps).

5 - Patients receives
e-prescription
number

- Posts eRx on eRxHub on DHPO

Patient
goes to
Physician

Patient

Physician

- Enters and Validates Patient Information

- Checks patients insurance coverage
with payer

- Give patient a Prescription number

av. response

30 seconds

DHPO

eRx Hub

Health Insurance Company/ Payer

eRx Initiative Overview v1.0 - May 4, 2013

Provides patient benefit coverage

Provides prescription eligibility
Provides clinical checks feedback
Posts response to eRx

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How to use the e-Prescription as a Pharmacist

Log in into the system through eRx Pharmacist portal on eClaimLink or by using your own system with
web services with DHPO.
Request the health insurance member card from patient.

Request eRx reference number from patient.

Enter the two numbers into the system.

The system will display the prescribed medication by the authorized physician.

Identify the medication to dispense.

Request Real-time e-authorization from insurance company.

Get the consent of the patient on the medicine patient share coverage.

Dispense the medicine and claim real-time.

The claim closes the e-Rx at eRx Hub and the eRx is no longer downloadable unless has refill.

5 - Patients receives
dispensed
medication

Patient
goes to
Pharmacy

Patient

Pharmacist

av. response

- Receives from patient e-prescription number

and membership insurance card
- Downloads eRx from eRxHub

- Requests e-Authorization from Payer

- Dispenses drugs and posts claim
with payer

DHPO

30 seconds

eRx Hub

4
Health Insurance Company/ Payer

eRx Initiative Overview v1.0 - May 4, 2013

- Provides patient benefit coverage

- Provides prescription eligibility
- Provides clinical checks feedback

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How e-Prescription
works for a Patient

1. Visit the authorized physicians.

2. Give the physician your health insurance
member card.
3. Check the coverage feedback from
insurance company real-time from eRx
response.
4. Get the e-Rx reference number.
5. Recommended to immediately go to the
pharmacy as the approvals received at the
physician clinic are real time advisory.
6. Give the pharmacist the health insurance
member card together with the e-Rx
reference number.
7. The pharmacist will retrieve the eprescription through the system real-time
8. You will agree with the pharmacist on the
medicines
9. The agreed on medication will be dispensed
10. The process at physician office or at
pharmacy to upload/download and obtain
approvals should be real-time and in
seconds.
Benefits:
You will know the medicines you are eligible
for under your insurance plan even before
you leave the physicians office.
Patient portal to track all your activities
Checks previous drugs entered on the
system and sends alerts to the physician &
pharmacist prior to prescribing &
dispensing any medicine.

eRx Initiative Overview v1.0 - May 4, 2013

FAQ:

Very minimal waiting time at the pharmacy

to dispense the medication

Can I still choose my pharmacy? Yes. This

will not affect your choice of pharmacy. You
can have your medicine supplied from your
preferred pharmacy.
Who can access my records? Is my privacy
protected? All the information is processed
with high security and confidentiality. Other
than those who need to know information
to meet your health care need will be able
to access your records.

Note:
If the medication is not covered under your
insurance plan you have the choice of
getting the medication at full price.

How to use
e- Prescription as a
Payer

Health Insurance Company (Payer) should respond

to both Physicians and Pharmacists in timely
manner within 1 to 60 seconds (average 30
seconds or less).
Payer is to provide Physicians and Pharmacists
with:
1. Patient benefit coverage
2. Prescription eligibility
3. Clinical checks feedback

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Then, Payer shall post eRx responses to both

Physicians and Pharmacists.

- Posts eRx on eRxHub on DHPO

1 Patient

- Patients receives
e-prescription
number

goes to
Physician
Patient

Physician

5
8

Patient
goes to
Pharmacy

- Patients receives
dispensed
medication

Patient

How the e-Prescription is linked

with DHA?

Pharmacist

- Enters and Validates Patient Information

- Checks patients insurance coverage
with payer

- Give patient a Prescription number

- Receives from patient e-prescription number

and membership insurance card
- Downloads eRx from eRxHub

- Requests e-Authorization from Payer

- Dispenses drugs and posts claim
with payer

For more information

Visit:

Dubai Health authorities have established related

customized international health standards. The
DHA monitors all transmitted information the time
it reaches its DHPO through the Drug Analysis and
Control System (DACS) and facilitate the
transactions.

www.eclaimlink.ae
Or call:
600 522 004, and ask about eRx Initiative

eClaimLink is a project of the Dubai Health

Authority.

eRx Initiative Overview v1.0 - May 4, 2013