Pharmacists Push Docs to E-Prescribe: Electronic Orders Might Save Money
Posted on: Tuesday, 9 May 2006, 06:03 CDT
By Katie Merx, Detroit Free Press
May 9--State and national pharmacy groups today are expected to launch an initiative to entice more Michigan doctors to use e-prescribe technology.
Michigan ranks 10th in the nation for electronic prescribing, the nation's pharmacy groups said Monday.
The National Association of Chain Drug Stores, the National Community Pharmacists Association and SureScripts -- a network provider of electronic-prescribing services -- awarded the SafeRx award to the 10 states doing the most electronic prescribing as a percentage of prescriptions written.
The pharmacy groups also singled out Michigan doctors Narinder Batra of Adrian, Margaret Dowling of Taylor and Mark O'Brien of Algonac for incorporating the technology into their practices.
Electronic prescribing, also known as e-prescribing, is believed to help avoid potential drug complications and save money by reducing adverse drug effects and increasing the use of generic drugs.
Dowling said she's an avid user of e-prescribing because: "It's safer for the patient and saves the patient money." It also saves her staff time calling in prescriptions and refills.
In e-prescribing, a doctor enters the prescription into a computer in his or her office. Every time a doctor enters a brand-name drug into an e-prescribing system, the computer suggests a less-expensive generic version if one exists. It also checks for potentially harmful drug interactions and allergies. Once the prescription is complete, it's transmitted electronically to a pharmacy.
Henry Ford Medical Group's pilot program and a collaborative e-prescribe program involving General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co., DaimlerChrysler Corp., Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and the Health Alliance Plan are cited as contributing to Michigan's top 10 ranking.
Today, the Michigan Pharmacists Association and local pharmacies connected for e-prescribing are to fax and mail a survey to the state's physicians to help them determine if those who don't e-prescribe have the technology to do it.
"The pharmacy industry estimates that 150,000 physicians have paid for the necessary technology and aren't using it," said Tammy Lewis of Alexandria, Va.-based SureScripts. "They may not need to spend more money to do e-prescribing."
The assessment will help doctors determine whether they already have the necessary technology in their offices, how much time and money they are spending doing traditional prescriptions and what is necessary to e-prescribe.
For more information, call 866-797-3239 or visit www.GetRxConnected.com/MI.
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Source: Detroit Free Press
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