In order to receive electronic refill requests in SOAPware, the user will need to run the eRx Monitor.  For instructions on running the eRx Monitor see: eRx Monitor.

To access the Refill Requests dialog, Click View in the menu bar and Click the All-Refill Requests menu item. This will display the refill requests for All patients for the Active Provider.

The display is horizontally divided into 4 general areas (from left to right).

1. Refill Notice
2. Patient Information
3. Description
4. Pharmacy Information

Note: A similar display is also available in Rx Manager. However, that display only shows pending refill requests for the active patient chart at the time the Rx Manager is open, see: Rx Manager: Refill Requests.

The first, or left-most, area of each refill request is the Refill Notice region and can contain Date Requested, Last Fill Date, Provider, and Action-Status rows (i.e. Ready, Scheduled Drug, Unmatched Patient etc.) When the refill request is complete and valid the Status will turn Green.  

The Last Fill Date item is optionally sent by the pharmacies. An empty value does not imply the script has not been previously filled by the pharmacy.

Note: If a provider elects to no longer receive refill requests electronically, they will need to send an email to [email protected] request that it be disabled.

The second area, horizontally, is the Patient Information passed to SOAPware from the pharmacy. When there is a match to a SOAPware chart (automatic or manual) the background is white.  Red indicates the patient information from the pharmacy has not yet been matched to a specific SOAPware chart.

The third area is the Description, and is largely made up of the actual medication-prescription details sent from the pharmacy. The bottom row provides the ability to Approve/Deny, define # of refills and provides an option to send a typed, free-text comment back to the pharmacy.

The fourth area is for the Pharmacy Information.

Refresh

The Refresh button checks for any new refill requests.

Provider

This drop down menu will allow the user to choose to view refill requests for All Providers or for only an individual provider.

Delete Request

The Delete Request button presents a dialog explaining that it is preferable to respond to the pharmacy with a Denied reason rather than deleting the request. It is best to then proceed to select one of the valid reasons for denial and add any necessary comments in the available comment box. Again, it is best to submit a Denied response, and this does remove the refill request from the list.

Send

The Send button sends a response for the currently selected refill request.

When an electronic refill request is sent for a patient for the first time, the SOAPware user will need to match the patient with a SOAPware chart.  If a clinic received a faxed refill request from the pharmacy on a patient, the clinic staff would verify that the patient's name, date of birth and SSN matched the patient's information on record with the clinic to ensure it was the same person.  This is the same workflow that should be used electronically to match the patient.

When a refill request needs to be matched to a patient, the refill request will display in red and the Action Required will say "Unmatched Patient".

To match the electronic refill request with a patient's chart:

1. Click the Match Patient button.

2.  The patient's Name, Birth Date and Sex as submitted by the pharmacy will display at the top of the Patient Match window

3.  SOAPware will search for a patient that has a matching last name in SOAPware and the results will be displayed.  Click on the correct patient after verifying the patient's information.

4.  Click the Match button to indicate that this refill request matches the selected patient.

When the refill request has been matched to a patient in the chart rack, the Action Required will be changed to "Ready" and the refill request will no longer be red.  When a matched refill request is selected, the corresponding patient's chart will be opened.

To approve a refill request:

1. Select a response of Approved.
2. Select the desired # of dispensings approved. In order to approve the refill request, the user must select a minimum of 1 # of Refills Approved.  If a user selected 0 # of Refills Approved, they would essentially be denying the initial refill that was requested.  By selecting 1 # Refills Approved, the clinic is approving the 1 refill that was requested today and no additional refills.  By selecting 2 # Refills Approved, the clinic is approved 1 refill that was requested today and 1 additional refill.
3. Click the Send button to submit the approved refill request to the pharmacy.

*Note: When an approved refill request is sent to the pharmacy, SOAPware will create documentation to indicate the user's response.  If the patient has an unsigned SOAPnote that is selected in their chart, the documentation for the refill request will be placed in the Medications field of the unsigned SOAPnote.  If the patient does not have an unsigned SOAPnote in the chart, a new SOAPnote will be created and the refill request documentation will be inserted into the new SOAPnote.  

*It is very important to make sure all notes are signed off on time so that a documentation for a refill request is not accidentally placed in an unsigned SOAPnote.

To deny a refill request:

1. Click the drop down menu next to Approved and then select the appropriate Denied response.
2. Set the # of dispensings approved to 0.
3. Click the Send button to submit the response to the pharmacy.

*Note:  Pharmacies will send refill requests for controlled medications.  Since controlled medications cannot be ePrescribed at this time, the clinic should deny the electronic refill request for a controlled medication using an appropriate response.  If the refill request needs to be approved, the clinic can then open a new SOAPnote for the patient to fill the refill request by printing/faxing the medication as needed.

All the information listed above is stored in the related patient's History section of Rx Manager after being submitted to the pharmacy (or removed).

If there is an active, unsigned SOAP encounter note, the prescriptions will also be transferred to the Medications field.