ATLANTA — RelayHealth has achieved full accreditation with the e-Prescribing Accreditation Program (ePAP) from the Electronic Healthcare Network Accreditation Commission (EHNAC).

The McKesson Corp. health care connectivity service provider said Monday that the ePAP accreditation demonstrates the operational integrity of companies that use electronic prescriptions by ensuring compliance with HIPAA regulations, accommodation of industry standards and proper use of relevant formats.

Through the review process, EHNAC evaluated RelayHealth’s e-prescribing and fax-based prescribing transactions in the areas of confidentiality enforcement, level-of-service and escalation procedures, outcome-related metrics, security infrastructures and the ability to comply with industry-standard data formats. RelayHealth noted that the EHNAC accreditation illustrates its adherence to strict standards and participation in the comprehensive, objective evaluation of the organization’s business.

"We are pleased that our electronic and fax-based prescribing transactions have passed EHNAC’s rigorous ePAP accreditation process," Jeff Felton, president of RelayHealth Pharmacy Solutions, said in a statement. "The accreditation is a seal of approval that underscores RelayHealth’s strong commitment to industry data standards and privacy and security of prescription data and processing."

RelayHealth provides network and claims processing connectivity services to more than 90% of the nation’s retail pharmacies. The company said it processes over 70% of all retail pharmacy prescriptions, including Medicare Part D claims equivalent to nearly 11 billion pharmacy transactions annually.

"Because e-prescribing continues to play such a critical role in the health care industry’s transition to electronic health records, solution providers need to ensure that their systems and processes adhere to industry standards," commented Lee Barrett, executive director of EHNAC, a voluntary, self-governing standards development organization established to develop standard criteria and accredit organizations that electronically exchange health care data. "Privacy, confidentiality and security are all top concerns for these organizations, and becoming EHNAC-accredited is a major step in ensuring full confidence in the integrity of a company’s e-prescribing system. We’re happy to have RelayHealth among this select group of accredited organizations."