NewCrop Chooses Verizon to Help Provide Secure Electronic Prescriptions for Controlled Substances

LAS VEGAS, Feb. 21, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- NewCrop LLC has selected Verizon Enterprise Solutions to provide secure identity services for NewCrop's new electronic system for prescribing controlled substances.

NewCrop will integrate Verizon's tailored digital identity solution, Verizon Universal Identity Services-Healthcare, to enable customers to submit electronic prescriptions for controlled substances via a secure, managed Web-based service.  Verizon will provide registration, identification screening, authentication and digital signature services.  Verizon's solution offers customers the choice of an intuitive and easy-to-install comprehensive package or an individual component that can be integrated into an electronic medical record.

"Verizon has consistently demonstrated its ability to execute in the health care identity field," said Dr. Lawrence Susnow, president and chief medical officer, NewCrop.  "Integrating Verizon's digital identity solution into the electronic medical record systems we support enables us to provide trusted access to sensitive prescription data in compliance with federal regulations.  This provides a seamless service to our customers nationwide by extending the safety and efficiency of electronic prescribing to narcotics and other scheduled drugs."

Verizon Universal Identity Services-Healthcare, delivered from the Verizon cloud through the company's Terremark IT services subsidiary, supports multiple health care identity standards for accessing electronic medical records and health information exchanges.  The multi-factored credentials are designed to meet the Level 3 authentication requirements created by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the federal agency that works with industry to develop and apply technology, measurements and standards.

In addition, the credentials help enable U.S. health care professionals to meet federal meaningful-use requirements contained in the 2009 Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act.

"As the health care industry continues its digital transformation, identity authentication for health care practitioners is a critical element of success," said Dr. Peter Tippett, vice president and chief medical officer, Verizon Connected Healthcare Solutions.  "Through the deployment of Verizon's digital identity management services, NewCrop is supporting the industry's efforts to electronically exchange health care information, which will lead to improved patient care and better cost management."

Verizon's UIS services support the code of federal regulations from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. CFR-1311, a set of guidelines from the DEA, regulates the use of e-prescribing for controlled substances. CFR-21 Part 11, from the FDA, provides digital signature guidelines for the submission of electronic records.

Verizon Connected Healthcare Solutions, the company's health care IT practice group, offers a comprehensive portfolio of managed, mobility, IT and consulting services for the health care industry.

About NewCrop
NewCrop LLC provides electronic prescribing systems, delivered over the Internet and designed for incorporation into other medical applications such as electronic medical records.   All features are available as a comprehensive user interface or, via data services, as individual components such as the new EPCS module.  To learn more about NewCrop, please visit www.newcroprx.com.

About Verizon
Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE, Nasdaq: VZ), headquartered in New York, is a global leader in delivering broadband and other wireless and wireline communications services to consumer, business, government and wholesale customers.  Verizon Wireless operates America's most reliable wireless network, with nearly 109 million total connections nationwide.  Verizon also provides converged communications, information and entertainment services over America's most advanced fiber-optic network, and delivers integrated business solutions to customers in more than 150 countries, including all of the Fortune 500.  A Dow 30 company with $111 billion in 2011 revenues, Verizon employs a diverse workforce of nearly 194,000.  For more information, visit www.verizon.com.

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SOURCE Verizon