Posted by Soraya Hareez on Tue, Mar 03, 2009
There is plenty of talk about ePrescribing these days, but do you feel informed? To kick off our blog, we thought we would bring you a simple, straightforward overview of electronic prescribing - including its benefits and financial incentives, and options you have should you choose this paperless route.
Feel free to leave comments and ask questions - this is an interactive space!
What is ePrescribing?
ePrescribing (short for electronic prescribing) is an electronic transmission of prescriptions between health care providers and pharmacies. It essentially eliminates the need for hand-written/paper prescriptions for non-controlled substances. The provider enters prescription information into a computer and submits the information electronically to a pharmacy with the click of a button.
An ePrescribing system also offers features that help ensure safe prescribing of medications, including functions to check medication history, patient allergies, drug interactions, recommended dosage, and payer treatment guidelines.
What are the benefits of ePrescribing?
- Rapid information exchange
- Improved clarity in communication between providers and pharmacies
- Less paperwork and more time to see patients
- Reduced time spent on pharmacy phone calls
- Fewer errors due to hard-to-read prescriptions
- Reduced risk of adverse drug events
- Increased medication compliance
- Drug reporting capabilities
What is the financial incentive for using ePrescribing?
Beginning this year, Medicare is offering a 2% bonus to health care providers who submit prescriptions electronically to pharmacies. The incentive offered in 2011 and 2012 will be 1%, and there is anticipation of a penalty for those who don't adopt ePrescribing by 2012.
Many providers report that they are able to run their practice more efficiently and profitably after implementing ePrescribing, with less time spent on pharmacy phone calls and paperwork, and more time to see patients.
What are my options for ePrescribing?
ePrescribing software comes in one of two forms: as a stand-alone system or as an integrated component of an EMR. Either option should allow the provider to submit prescriptions directly to the pharmacy and enable the pharmacy to communicate back with refill authorization requests for approval. Both systems should also provide negative drug interaction alerts, patient prescription history, and drug coverage and formulary information.
The main difference between the two options is that when doing ePrescribing through an EMR, new prescriptions and refills are automatically saved into the patient's chart and there is no need for duplicate entry of data.
Additional Information
A Clinician's Guide to Electronic Prescribing
A guide written by the eHeath Initiative Foundation and endorsed by the American Medical Association.