Electronic Prescribing


This article describes the features to look for in electronic prescribing and how this service can benefit your practice. Not all e-prescribing services are the same but if you choose the right one, it will save you time, expense, and liability. And, it is a convenience that patients like and appreciate.

What Should An E-prescribing Service Include?

  • The ability to integrate with the patient demographics. This is a huge timesaver.
  • All pharmacies populated so you won't have to enter them yourself
  • Process renewals with just a few mouse clicks.
  • Integration of insurance information to check formularies.
  • Easy to understand medication information should be available to educate patients.

The AMA has a lot of good information on how to implement electronic prescribing.

You can download the Clinician Guide to Electronic prescribing at here.

Advantages Of Electronic Prescribing

Time

The average physician writes 30 prescriptions a day and handles another 30 refill requests.

Indecipherable or unclear prescriptions result in more than 150 million calls from pharmacists to physicians, asking for clarification.

Communications between pharmacies and physician offices account for an estimated 20% of the workload of physician-office staff.

Expense

The typical pharmacy call-back costs physician practices $5–$7 to pull and review the chart and return the call.

Safety

Due largely to legibility problems, prescription orders must be confirmed at the pharmacy level in almost 40 percent of cases.

Medication errors cause 1.5 million preventable injuries and death each year.

The good news is that once a provider is set up with e-prescribing, it is easy to use and will save time and money.