If you work in a busy clinic, you know electronic prescriptions can be a blessing and a headache. They’re supposed to save time, but when your staff’s juggling dozens (or hundreds) a day, things can spiral fast—missed refills, pharmacy callbacks, and frustrated patients. This guide is for clinic managers, providers, and support staff who want to get a real handle on electronic prescribing in Eclinicalworks, without buying into the hype or chasing shiny features you’ll never use.
1. Nail the Basics: Clean Provider and Patient Data
You can’t have smooth e-prescribing with messy data. Garbage in, garbage out.
- Always verify provider credentials. If a provider’s NPI or DEA is missing, e-prescriptions will fail. Make it a routine to double-check these fields for any new or locum providers.
- Standardize patient info. Duplicate records or typos mean prescriptions can go to the wrong place or fail to transmit. Set up a process for patient check-in staff to confirm spelling, DOB, and pharmacy info every time.
- Pro tip: Run a monthly report to catch providers with expired credentials or licenses.
What to ignore: Don’t waste time on advanced “data cleansing” tools unless your basic info is solid and regularly checked. Most errors are simple typos or missing fields.
2. Set Up Pharmacy Favorites and Keep Them Updated
Scrolling through hundreds of pharmacies every time you prescribe? That’s a time sink.
- Create a master list of local pharmacies. Add the ones patients actually use as “favorites” under each provider profile.
- Remove outdated or closed pharmacies. Pharmacies merge, close, or rename all the time. Assign one staff member to review and update favorites every quarter.
- Encourage patients to verify their preferred pharmacy. Many people switch chains or locations and forget to tell you. Ask at every visit.
Tip: Don’t add every pharmacy in the area—just the ones you use weekly. Otherwise, the “favorites” list becomes another source of clutter.
3. Use Prescription Templates and Order Sets
Writing out the same scripts every day wastes time and invites errors.
- Build templates for common prescriptions. Think chronic meds, antibiotics, birth control—anything you prescribe on autopilot.
- Include default sigs, quantities, refills. But don’t hard-code everything—leave room for tweaks.
- Train new providers and staff on using templates. Most don’t find them on their own. Make this part of onboarding.
- Review templates every 6 months. Drug formularies and insurance preferences change, so keep them fresh.
Honest take: Eclinicalworks templates aren’t perfect. They require setup, and you’ll still need to edit for the oddball prescriptions. But they save a ton of clicks once you’ve dialed them in.
4. Manage Pending and Failed Prescriptions Proactively
The “Pending Rx” bucket fills up fast—and that’s where errors hide.
- Assign responsibility. Make it crystal clear who checks and clears the pending/failed prescriptions queue (front desk? nurse? MA?).
- Set a daily check time. Don’t let it build up. A 10-minute sweep before lunch and end-of-day works for most clinics.
- Track error patterns. If the same meds, pharmacies, or insurance plans keep causing failures, dig into why. Sometimes it’s an outdated template or a pharmacy with frequent technical glitches.
- Don’t ignore failed transmissions. Call the pharmacy or re-send electronically—don’t punt to paper unless you’re really stuck.
What doesn’t work: Hoping the system “just works.” Eclinicalworks isn’t magic—someone needs to eyeball these queues.
5. Streamline Refill Requests
Refills can eat your clinic alive if you’re not careful. Here’s how to keep them from taking over your day:
- Batch process refills twice a day. Morning and afternoon—don’t process every single one as it comes in unless it’s truly urgent.
- Use refill request queues. Eclinicalworks routes requests to the refill queue. Make sure everyone knows how to find and clear them.
- Set clear protocols for what can be refilled without a visit. Document these and make sure all providers agree (nothing derails efficiency like back-and-forth about a routine lisinopril refill).
- Educate patients. Remind them to request refills 3–5 days before running out. Post signs, mention it at visits, or use your patient portal.
Real talk: You’ll never automate every refill. Some requests will always need a chart review or a phone call. The goal is to minimize the number, not chase “zero refills in the queue.”
6. Control Access and Audit Regularly
Not everyone in your clinic should be sending prescriptions.
- Limit prescribing rights. Only credentialed providers should be able to sign and send prescriptions. Support staff can prep drafts, but not send them out.
- Review user roles quarterly. Staff turnover means old logins can linger and present a security risk.
- Audit activity logs. Eclinicalworks keeps a record of who sent what. Pick a random week each quarter and spot-check for odd activity.
- Immediately remove access for departing staff. This is basic, but easy to overlook in a busy clinic.
Pro tip: Don’t overcomplicate this with fancy role hierarchies. Just keep the “who can prescribe” list short and up to date.
7. Train, Retrain, and Document
No system runs itself. Your team needs to know how to use Eclinicalworks, and the system changes over time.
- Schedule short, focused training sessions. Once a year is the bare minimum—twice is better. Don’t just rely on “learn as you go.”
- Create cheat sheets for key tasks. How to resend a failed prescription, how to add a new pharmacy, etc. Keep them somewhere obvious.
- Update documentation after big upgrades. Eclinicalworks does push out changes, and old instructions can trip up staff.
- Encourage “see something, say something.” If a staffer finds a faster way, share it. If something’s breaking, escalate it.
What to ignore: Long, generic EHR training videos. Most staff tune out after 10 minutes. Short, real-world guides win every time.
8. Handle Controlled Substances (EPCS) Properly
Electronic prescribing for controlled substances (EPCS) is tightly regulated, and mistakes here can bring audits.
- Make sure all prescribers complete EPCS registration. This includes identity proofing and two-factor authentication. It’s a hassle, but required.
- Don’t share tokens or passwords. Ever. Each provider must use their own credentials.
- Follow DEA and state rules to the letter. They change often, so keep one staff member in charge of monitoring for updates.
- Audit controlled substance logs monthly. Look for unusual patterns, like large quantities or frequent refills.
Reality check: EPCS can be a pain to set up. But paper scripts for controlleds are a bigger pain—and a liability if you mess them up.
9. Take Advantage of Medication History and Drug Interaction Checks
Eclinicalworks can pull a patient’s med history and flag interactions, but only if you use those features.
- Always check medication history before prescribing. Catch duplicate therapies or missed refills.
- Don’t just click through interaction warnings. Most are low-level, but look out for the big ones (major interactions, allergies).
- Update patient-reported meds at every visit. Patients sometimes fill scripts elsewhere or use over-the-counter meds.
What to ignore: Overly sensitive alerts. If your system dings you for every minor interaction, talk to your admin about tuning alert levels. Alert fatigue is real.
10. Use Reports to Spot Bottlenecks
The reporting module in Eclinicalworks isn’t glamorous, but it’s useful.
- Run monthly reports on prescription volume, failures, and turnaround time. Identify which providers are efficient and where bottlenecks happen.
- Share the results with your team. A little friendly competition can help, but the real goal is to spot problems early.
- Adjust workflows based on what you see. If one provider’s scripts fail more often, figure out why. If refills back up on Fridays, staff accordingly.
What doesn’t work: Obsessing over the numbers. Use reports to spot trends, not to micromanage every click.
Keep It Simple: Best Practices That Actually Stick
Managing electronic prescriptions in a clinic is about making small, consistent improvements, not chasing perfection. Start with the basics: clean data, clear roles, and routine checks. Then, add templates, batch your work, and keep training short and practical. Don’t let bells and whistles distract you from what matters: safe, efficient prescribing that doesn't drive your team nuts.
When in doubt, simplify. If a process feels clunky, ask your staff how they’d fix it—and try their ideas. Iterate, don’t overhaul. You’ll get better results, and everyone will breathe a little easier at the end of the day.