Beginning January 2009 the US Medicare system will be offering bonuses to physicians who prescribe medications electronically. Why the push? The most important reason is patient safety – no more indecipherable handwriting means less risk that your pharmacist will dole out the wrong prescription. Also, e-prescribing sends the prescription instantly, directly to the pharmacy, so scripts do not get lost or stolen. When e-prescribing, computers can remind docs about potential interactions amongst drugs, in addition to helping physicians choose the cheapest drugs which, in the end, saves the patient money. Only about 10 percent of US doctors are actively e-prescribing. This is due, in part, to the cost associated with setting up the necessary technology and apprehension about adopting new technology. However, the benefits are clear. Ever since I personally started e-prescribing, there’s just no going back to paper.
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Tags: doctor, e-prescribe, electronic, medicare, prescription, safety
Dr. Steven Chang, the author of DailyDose, is a staff physician with Kosmix RightHealth. Dr. Chang practices Family Medicine at the University of California Davis Medical Center, where his medical interests include both pediatric and geriatric care, public health, gay and lesbian health, and sleep medicine. Dr. Chang trained at the Stanford University affiliated O'Connor Hospital, and was a research fellow at the National Institute of Health. He holds an M.D. from McGill University and a BA in Public Health from Johns Hopkins University.
December 17th, 2008 at 5:53 pm
My doctor has been e-prescribing for over a year. I love it. It saves me a trip to the drup store to leave the priscription.
December 19th, 2008 at 4:24 am
I think it is convenient for both the physician and patient on many levels. It’s also more environmentally friendly!
January 12th, 2009 at 8:02 pm
[...] US president elect Barack Obama stated that his administration will invest money to make sure that the health records of all Americans are computerized in the next five years. Estimates have put the cost of such an endeavor in the billions. However, the move is intended to eventually save Americans billions in health care costs. More importantly, electronic health records have been shown to improve patient care by reducing medical errors. Obama’s plan is to eventually have one standard electronic system that all health care facilities will use. This certainly will not be an easy task given the commercialization of health care in the US today. On a related note, beginning this month Medicare will begin to offer incentives to physicians who prescribe electronically. [...]
January 13th, 2009 at 7:03 am
The military has been the mover and predecessor of many things both Medical and Computer wise. Here is another focus that has been started in the military arena. While at Walter Reed (WRAMC) prescribing was done very little in handwritten form and only by exception. It fosters the ability to have many different disciplines be involved in care while moving PHI about conveniently and securely. Also computer checks can be placed to quickly weed incorrect dosing profiles and pharmacies are better able to fill prescribing orders.
Coming is the convenience of ‘air-mobile’ contact while doctors are off-site and unable to be either at the bedside or at an office location to be able to quickly review charted information on each pt. While electronic filing has many up in arms over security and loss of identification, when used therapeutically and correctly this is a premier Cadillac of choices to the antiquated style of today.