E-prescribing taking off, but there's a long way to go

The good news is that the number of U.S. clinicians writing electronic prescriptions has doubled since last year, suggesting that the Medicare e-prescribing bonus program is working. The bad news is that the overwhelming majority of scripts still are written on paper.

E-prescribing network Surescripts reports that 143,000 office-based prescribers now use e-prescribing technology, compared to 74,000 a year ago. CMS is paying a 2 percent bonus to office-based physicians for e-prescribing in 2009 and 2010, a bonus that tapers off starting in 2011. Penalties for not e-prescribing start in 2012. "There's no question that the federal incentives are working," Surescripts president and CEO Harry Totonis said, according to Dow Jones Newswires.

Despite the progress, about 110 million prescriptions dispensed through retail pharmacies had been written electronically through the end of August, representing a mere 3 percent of the 3.7 billion total retail prescriptions filled. Old habits are hard to break, plus, as many in health IT know, the Drug Enforcement Agency still bans e-prescribing of controlled substances. The Justice Department still hasn't acted on a DEA proposal from last year to lift the prohibition.

Meanwhile, hoping to spur more e-prescribing adoption, the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons has joined the Get Connected program, promoting the technology.

For more information:
- read this Dow Jones Newswires story in the Wall Street Journal
- see the Surescripts press release
- check out this AAOS press release

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