FALLS CHURCH, Va. and SAN MATEO, Calif., March 31, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Epocrates, Inc. (Nasdaq:EPOC) and the TRICARE Management Activity (TMA) today announce that TMA has contracted with Epocrates to provide physicians and other healthcare professionals with mobile and online access to the TRICARE formulary list. Improved access to important drug information at the point of care helps increase savings and guides therapy.
"We are committed to ensuring that our country's service men and women, and their families, receive affordable quality care," said LTC Stacia Spridgen, director of the TMA Pharmacoeconomic Center. "Epocrates provides a convenient way for healthcare professionals to keep up to date on formulary information and make appropriate prescribing decisions for our patients."
TRICARE is the DoD's healthcare program serving 96 million Uniformed Service members, retirees and their families. Using Epocrates' mobile and online drug reference applications, healthcare providers worldwide treating TRICARE patients can now easily access the formulary information. This drug information is made available to all healthcare providers who are Epocrates' subscribers across the Military Healthcare System.
Healthcare professionals using Epocrates software now have free access to TRICARE formulary information, including:
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Prior Authorizations – Some medications require prior authorization, or additional information from the prescriber, before TRICARE allows coverage. In such cases, healthcare providers can conveniently link to the prior authorization website from within the Epocrates application. By identifying and addressing prior authorizations upfront, it reduces timely callbacks from the pharmacy and delays in medication delivery to patients.
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Preferred Lists – Healthcare providers using Epocrates can quickly access TRICARE's list of preferred medications, segmented by three tiers of cost-share. With point-of-care availability of the formulary list, healthcare providers can determine the most affordable prescription options for patients.
- Pricing Options – Epocrates can also help providers better understand a patient's cost-share at the three types of locations covered by TMA: Military Treatment Facilities (MTFs), mail order and retail. For example, the MTFs do not require cost-shares, making them the preferred location to fill all medications where accessible. Whereas, mail order is the preferred location for all chronic medications, as there is a lower cost-share compared to retail.
In addition to retail, government and national formulary lists, Epocrates' free drug reference application features information about potential interactions, adverse reactions and more. Epocrates is conveniently available online or for download to smartphones including iPhone®, Android™ and BlackBerry® devices.
ABOUT THE TRICARE PHARMACY PROGRAM
The Department of Defense provides a world-class pharmacy benefit through TRICARE to all eligible uniformed service members, retirees, and family members, including beneficiaries age 65 and older. The TRICARE Pharmacy Program provides outpatient prescription drugs to more than 96 million beneficiaries. Prescription drug coverage is the same regardless of beneficiary category or health plan option. For more information about TMA Pharmacoeconomic Center, please visit http://pec.ha.osd.mil/index.php. For more information about the TRICARE Pharmacy Program, please visit http://www.tricare.mil/tma/pharmacy.
ABOUT EPOCRATES
Epocrates is a leading provider of mobile drug reference tools to healthcare professionals and interactive services to the healthcare industry. Epocrates' active user network currently has more than one million healthcare professionals, including more than 45 percent of U.S. physicians. Most commonly used on mobile devices at the point of care, the company's clinical products and services help healthcare professionals make more informed prescribing decisions, enhance patient safety and improve practice productivity. For more information about Epocrates, please visit www.epocrates.com/company.
Epocrates is a trademark of Epocrates, Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. All other trademarks and trade names referred to in this press release are the property of their respective owners.
This press release contains forward-looking statements. Any statements contained in this press release that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based upon the company's current expectations. Actual results could differ materially from these forward-looking statements as a result of certain factors, including, risks detailed in Epocrates' filings with, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including in Epocrates' registration statement on Form S-1 dated February 1, 2011. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. Epocrates does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements as a result of new information, future events, changed assumptions or otherwise.