Coalition wants e-prescribing included in Medicare reform

A coalition of 44 healthcare industry organizations have come together to ask Congress to to include e-prescribing mandates in Medicare reform legislation. The members want legislators to adopt the Medicare Electronic Medication and Safety Protection Act of 2007 (E-MEDS), which would require Medicare providers to use e-prescribing technology. The group should have some clout, as it includes some heavy hitters, including the BlueCross BlueShield Association, AT&T, the National Business Group on Health, General Motors, WellPoint, CIGNA, Aetna and Verizon.

In recent times, it's begun to look like a Medicare e-prescribing mandate [1] is all but certain. However, despite these endorsements, it hasn't happened yet, and it's not clear whether HHS is inclined to force the matter.

To learn more about this initiative:
- read this Modern Healthcare article [2] (reg. req.)

Related Articles:
Momentum growing for requiring Medicare e-prescribing [1]
HHS head encourages payers to demand e-prescribing [3]
Group says controlled-substance rules block e-prescribing [4]
E-prescribing: What's holding it back? [5]