Reimagining the Future of e-Prescribing Through Interoperability and AI
At HIMSS 2026, one thing was impossible to miss: healthcare’s future is being shaped by smarter connectivity. In this edition of Doceree Dialogue – Chapter HIMSS, Aaron Forman, COO of DAW Systems, joined us to unpack how interoperability, AI, and real-time prescription intelligence are reshaping the prescribing experience for providers, pharmacies, and patients alike.
With roots spanning nearly 30 years, DAW Systems has evolved alongside the healthcare technology ecosystem itself — from printed and faxed prescriptions to enterprise-scale e-prescribing infrastructure powering modern healthcare organizations.
As healthcare workflows become increasingly digitized, the challenge is no longer simply enabling electronic prescribing — it’s ensuring the entire ecosystem communicates effectively.
Why Interoperability Remains Healthcare’s Biggest Prescribing Challenge
Despite major advancements in digital health, prescribing workflows remain highly fragmented. Providers today must navigate multiple systems for electronic prior authorization (EPA), real-time benefit checks (RTBC), pharmacy connectivity, and patient affordability insights — all within already complex clinical workflows.
According to Forman, stitching these systems together meaningfully remains one of healthcare’s toughest technical hurdles.
“Sharing and interoperability across the board and having all the systems connect properly to give the right data at the right time — that is one of the biggest challenges,” Forman explained.
While ancillary prescribing services have improved healthcare delivery overall, integrating them seamlessly into provider workflows remains difficult for many healthcare organizations and technology teams.
“It’s a tough build for most to present that data properly,” Forman noted. “For tech teams to integrate appropriately, it gets a bit dicey.”
The goal, ultimately, is not simply connectivity — but usability. Clinicians need actionable information surfaced at the exact moment decisions are being made.
Building Prescribing Infrastructure That Fits Modern Healthcare
As EHRs and health systems demand greater flexibility, DAW Systems has adapted its approach to integration by offering multiple implementation models based on partner needs.
For organizations seeking speed and simplicity, DAW’s core integration can reportedly be completed in as little as seven days, including testing and certification for controlled substances.
“We have partners doing integrations in as little as seven days start to finish,” Forman shared.
For more advanced healthcare technology partners, DAW also enables deeper customization while still leveraging its infrastructure and connectivity layer behind the scenes.
“It gives partners more control over staying in their own UI for longer while still giving them the rails and connectivity needed to send prescriptions,” he said.
This flexibility reflects a broader shift happening across healthcare IT: organizations increasingly want interoperability solutions that integrate into existing workflows without forcing major operational disruption.
The Missing Visibility Problem After Prescriptions Are Sent
One of the most significant gaps in healthcare prescribing today happens after a prescription leaves the provider’s system.
While clinicians can confirm a prescription reached the pharmacy, many still lack visibility into what happens next — whether the prescription was filled, partially filled, delayed, or blocked by insurance approval issues.
“Once we send the scripts today, we have almost no insight into the script thereafter,” Forman explained. “We know it gets to the pharmacy, but not whether it was filled, partially filled, or if there was a problem.”
That lack of visibility creates unnecessary administrative burden and delays patient care.
To address this issue, DAW Systems developed Script Exchange, a solution designed to improve communication between pharmacies and prescribing systems by sharing fulfillment and inventory-related insights back to providers.
“Not every pharmacy is sharing that data back today,” Forman said. “But those kinds of insights can help immensely with interoperability.”
The implications are significant. If providers know upfront whether medications are in stock, likely to be approved, or facing fulfillment delays, they can make faster, more informed prescribing decisions before patients ever arrive at the pharmacy.
AI’s Role in Reducing Administrative Burden
At HIMSS 2026, AI dominated conversations across nearly every healthcare category — and prescribing workflows are emerging as one of its most practical applications.
Forman pointed specifically to electronic prior authorization as an area where AI can meaningfully reduce administrative friction.
“AI can certainly help either pre-answer or answer inline the questions that can be pulled from an EHR system or prescribing history,” he explained.
Prior authorization workflows often involve repetitive manual tasks that slow down treatment decisions and create delays for patients. By automating parts of that process, AI can significantly improve efficiency for clinical staff.
DAW Systems estimates its EPA-related workflows save approximately 14 minutes per patient.
“Expand that across a week or a month, and it’s a ton of time savings for staff,” Forman said.
But beyond operational efficiency, AI-driven prescribing workflows also improve patient experience by reducing the likelihood of rejected prescriptions and unexpected delays at the pharmacy counter.
“You don’t have a patient going to the pharmacy only to find out their medication isn’t going to be filled,” he added. “Knowing that information at the point of care is critical.”
Expanding Innovation Beyond Human Healthcare
Interestingly, DAW Systems is also applying its infrastructure capabilities to veterinary medicine — an industry that still relies heavily on manual prescribing processes.
The company’s Script Exchange technology is now helping veterinarians electronically route prescriptions directly to pharmacies, improving medication accessibility for pet owners while modernizing outdated workflows.
“There’s still a lot of faxing, phone calls, and printed scripts in veterinary medicine,” Forman shared. “But the need is the same — improving process and getting care delivered faster.”
As veterinary healthcare continues digitizing, solutions originally designed for human healthcare are increasingly finding relevance in adjacent care ecosystems as well.
The Road Ahead: A More Connected Prescribing Ecosystem
Looking ahead, Forman believes healthcare leaders must continue prioritizing interoperability and real-time data exchange across the prescribing journey.
“We all are part of this big ecosystem, and we have to be talking to each other and sharing the appropriate data,” he said.
As interoperability regulations continue evolving, healthcare organizations will likely face increasing pressure to improve transparency across prescribing workflows — from insurance approvals and pricing visibility to medication adherence and fulfillment tracking.
“The more information providers have at the point of care, the better decisions they can make,” Forman concluded. “All of this information can ultimately help deliver the best care possible.”
At a time when healthcare systems are being challenged to improve both efficiency and patient outcomes, conversations like these reinforce a critical truth: the future of prescribing will not simply be digital — it will be deeply connected, intelligent, and increasingly proactive.