The HCNN is an online service designed to improve the speed and efficacy of the delivery of U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-mandated Patient Safety Alerts to physicians, prescribers and their staff. By accelerating delivery of these important Alerts, the HCNN protects patient safety and reduces medical liability.

Alerts (also known as "Dear Doctor Letters" or "Dear Health Care Professional Letters") are currently sent to prescribers on paper via traditional U.S. mail – a slow, error-prone process. Snail mailed safety Alert letters are frequently delivered to prescribers along with large volumes of marketing materials, which dilutes the efficacy of the time-sensitive Alerts and delays the arrival of these important notifications. In some cases, Patient Safety Alerts may never reach the intended health care professional at all.

Since the HCNN uses a dedicated online network as the Alert notification vehicle, prescribers can have confidence that they will receive recall Alerts quickly and effectively – and before their patients learn about the Alerts from the news.

Liability carriers, medical societies, health plans, government officials and other healthcare leaders support the HCNN because it improves patient safety, reduces physician liability, and ensures the fast and convenient delivery of Patient Safety Alerts.

The HCNN may also be used to notify prescribers in the event of national public health emergencies or bio-terror events.

• Improved patient safety
• Reduced professional liability
• Immediate delivery of important clinical information
• Increased practice convenience and efficiency
• Streamlined practice workflow
• Reduced office paperwork and mail
• Eco-friendly alternative to current paper system
• Online access to complete Alert details

Medical societies, medical liability carriers, patient advocacy groups, and other health care industry organizations are supporters of the HCNN because it improves patient safety and decreases practice liability.

The FDA endorses the online delivery of Patient Safety Alerts to physicians/prescribers and provides liaison representation on the iHealth Alliance, the HCNN's not-for-profit governing board. In 2006, the FDA changed their official guidance to industry to state that in most cases electronic delivery of Patient Safety Alerts is preferable to paper-based delivery.

You may create an account with HCNN using the online registration form, by contacting HCNN Customer Service or by responding to a fax back letter or email activation sent by your medical malpractice carrier or medical society. Our online form is secure and all data is stored by HCNN under strict privacy and security standards.

Physicians, most prescribers and their staff are eligible to receive electronic Alerts via the HCNN, however only prescribers may be primary account holders. For email, a maximum of three additional email addresses may be added to a primary HCNN account, after the primary account is established. Additional emails added to an account will receive notification to inform their primary account holder to view an Alert online. While primary account holders must be prescribers, Alerts may be sent directly to a staff member if the prescriber authorizes the staff email as the primary email address for the account.

The HCNN is not a mandatory service, but rather a far more immediate, efficient and eco-friendly alternative to receiving Patient Safety Alerts via the U.S. mail.

Prescribers who do not enroll in the HCNN will continue to receive mail-based patient safety Alerts via U.S. mail and derive no benefit from the HCNN. Relying upon traditional mail delivery to learn of new patient safety Alerts results in Alert delay and may create increased liability exposure for a medical practice

Prescriber enrollee information is authenticated against the American Medical Association (AMA) Physician Masterfile or the American Academy of Physician Assistants (AAPA) Database to verify that all Alerts are being received by prescribers and correctly match to existing data used for mail-based Alerts.

The AMA Physician Masterfile comprises individual physicians, spanning the continuum from undergraduate medical education through physician practice, irrespective of AMA membership.

This includes Doctors of Medicine (MD) and Doctors of Osteopathic Medicine (DO) in the United States, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and certain Pacific Islands.

The AAPA Database includes all PAs, both members and non-members of the AAPA.

HCNN is required to authenticate all prescribers using the network and provide an accurate match to the existing database used to send the current, mail-based Alerts. This information is used only to ensure proper matching and eliminate paper and is completely protected by the iHealth Alliance.

Supported Browsers:
Microsoft® Internet Explorer (MSIE) 6.XX, 7.XX, 8.XX
Mozilla Firefox 3.0

PDF Requirements. Free Acrobat Reader software from Adobe is required to access Alerts provided to you in PDF format. To download the Adobe Reader, click here.

Important PDF Reminder for Mac users: if you access a PDF document from a Mac, the PDF may be downloaded to its desktop or to an easily accessible download folder.

If your Internet connection is slower than 28.8, or if you are using an older browser, you may experience difficulty downloading and installing the latest browser versions. We strongly recommend that you order a new browser version on a CD from Microsoft or Mozilla.

Additional staff and other healthcare professionals can be added to an HCNN account by the prescriber after the primary account has been created. Non-physicians and others interested in receiving HCNN Alerts not associated with a prescriber must contact HCNN Customer Service.

Prescribers may add up to three additional staff or nurse email addresses to a primary HCNN account, after the primary account has been created. These users will receive notification to inform their primary account holder to view an Alert online. While primary account holders must be prescribers, Alerts may be sent directly to a staff member if the prescriber authorizes the staff email as the primary email address for the account.

Registration for the HCNN is achieved using a secure HTTPS protocol. If you are concerned about entering your information online, please contact HCNN Customer Service for personal assistance.

The HCNN is free for prescribers and other health care professionals.

The HCNN is funded by manufacturers that use the network to deliver Patient Safety Alerts.

No spam is delivered via the HCNN. The HCNN is governed by the iHealth Alliance, which prohibits unauthorized use of the network, including advertising. Email addresses, fax numbers and other personal information will not be sold or disclosed to third parties.

1. Visit the online registration page
2. Enter required information
3. Click "Continue"
4. The system will authenticate you against the AMA Masterfile or AAPA database
5. Once you are authenticated, an activation page will appear and you will create a password for the account
6. Click "Submit"
7. Your account is activated
8. Add "no-reply@message.pdr.mail.com" and "no-reply@mail.pdr-mail.com" to your online address book or your spam filter's whitelist to ensure timely delivery of Alerts to your email inbox.

Each primary account requires a unique email address. If you have already registered, the system recognizes your email address and will not allow a duplicate registration.

You may have also been pre-registered by a partnering organization, such as a state or specialty medical society. Refer to the HCNN-related message from the organization that pre-registered you with the HCNN.

If you don’t have a password for your online account, use the "Don’t have your Password yet?" function to activate your account and create your password online. If you can not recall the email address registered to your account, please contact HCNN Customer Service.

Medication and medical device manufacturers are required by the FDA to issue patient safety Alerts for recalls and important safety notifications. When an Alert is issued via the HCNN, it is delivered immediately to prescribers within the network, notifying health care providers days or even weeks sooner than letters sent through the U.S. mail. Depending on what information you provide the HCNN, we may email the Alert to you, fax it to you, or email you a link to access the Alert online. You may access the Alert from an email notification sent from "no-reply@message.pdr.mail.com" and "no-reply@mail.pdr-mail.com" by clicking on the Alert link or cutting and pasting the link into your browser.

The HCNN is used solely for FDA-mandated and product-related patient safety Alerts. Any other use, such as use in a public health emergency, will require specific authorization from the not-for-profit iHealth Alliance.

All pharmaceutical companies and medical device manufacturers are able to use the HCNN, and most major manufacturers have already committed to delivering patient safety Alerts via this new network. The 2006 FDA guidance to manufacturers indicates that electronic Alert systems such as the HCNN are preferred for delivering these Alerts.

The not-for-profit iHealth Alliance governs and controls the HCNN and guarantees that prescriber information will not be shared, sold, or leased to any third parties.

Patient safety Alerts are sent via U.S. Mail to prescribers with valid email addresses who enroll in the HCNN but do not open the online Alert sent via the HCNN within 72 hours. Providing an email address that you check regularly is important in order to fully benefit from the HCNN.

The HCNN does not increase or decrease the total number of Alerts sent to any one prescriber. The HCNN simply replaces mail-based Alerts with electronic Alerts to make delivery of this important information more timely and efficient.

The Alerts sent via the HCNN are targeted in the same manner as the Alerts currently sent via U.S. mail. Most Alerts are targeted to specific specialties and/or those who prescribe a particular medication.

While discounts on insurance premiums are not available at this time, many medical liability insurance carriers are considering providing it to their insured members. Many carriers support and endorse the HCNN, agreeing that electronic delivery of patient safety Alerts can reduce medical liability.

Liability carriers promote and endorse the HCNN because rapid, effective delivery of patient safety Alerts decreases medical liability exposure. Delays in receiving and responding to Alerts may increase professional liability.

Yes. In partnership with the Texas Medical Association (TMA), physicians who receive online Alerts from the HCNN may receive incremental Continuing Medical Education (CME) credits. Physicians do not need to be members of TMA in order to earn CME.

TMA is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

Medical society membership with the TMA or other state or specialty medical societies is not required to earn CME credit via the HCNN.

The TMA designates the HCNN educational activity for a maximum of .25 AMA PRA Category 1 credit™. In other words, by viewing a single HCNN Alert, you are eligible to receive .25 AMA PRA Category 1 incremental credit™, which may be redeemed for one full credit once you have viewed at least four Alerts through the HCNN (the equivalent of one full AMA PRA Category 1 credit™). Physicians should only claim credit commensurate with their Alert views.

After logging in to your HCNN account to view an Alert, simply click on the CME link under the “Services and Tools” heading to the right of the Alert to participate in an HCNN CME course.

Logging in provides an accurate verification of receipt, and prevents a mail based Alert from being sent to a prescriber who has already viewed an Alert online, via the HCNN. You can also check the ‘Remember me on this computer’ feature so that you only need to log in the first time. If you prefer not to log in to view the electronic Alert, you will receive a paper-based Alert via U.S. mail a few weeks later.

Checking the "Remember me on this computer" option will automatically log you in to the HCNN whenever you visit www.hcnn.net. You may uncheck this box at any time or log out, but will then be required to log in with your username and password each time you access your HCNN account.

Note: If you check the "Remember me" box and it does not work, you may need to enable cookies on your computer. If you delete the HCNN cookie on your computer or actively log out of your HCNN account, the "Remember me" function will be disabled.

A free copy of Adobe Acrobat Reader software is required to view patient safety Alerts via the HCNN. If you have trouble accessing Alert details, click here to download the Adobe Reader. A new browser window will open and provide step-by-step directions for downloading and installing Acrobat Reader.

If you prefer, you may download the Alert files to your local computer through the "Save a Copy" function, accessible from the Adobe File toolbar and at the top of the Alert.

Mac systems should be able to access Alert files in ‘preview’ mode using the Safari browser. If you are still having difficulties with in-browser viewing, click "Download this File" located above the viewing window to download the files to your computer.

Use the "Forgot Password" function to reset your password online. If you can not recall the email address registered to your account, please contact HCNN Customer Service.

Your email address is the user ID for your account. To change or update your email address or other contact information:

• Log in to the HCNN web site (when logged in, see the "My Account" link on the upper right-hand side of the home page).
• "My Account" takes you to your profile page, from which you may update your email address and any other personal information.

For additional support, please contact HCNN Customer Service.

To ensure timely delivery of HCNN Alert notifications to your inbox, please add "no-reply@message.pdr.mail.com" and "no-reply@mail.pdr-mail.com" to your known senders list and inbox white list.

Your privacy and trust are our greatest assets. Information that you provide will only be used for patient safety Alerts and HCNN communication. Email addresses and contact information provided to the HCNN is not sold, shared or disclosed to third parties.

Any information provided for an HCNN enrollment is used for the sole purposes of establishing and authenticating an HCNN account. Information is transmitted through a secure form, and customer service representatives are required to sign security documents.

The HCNN is governed by the iHealth Alliance, which prohibits unauthorized use of the network, including advertising.

Have a suggestion about the HCNN? Let us know.