E-prescribing update for health execs: Where are we now?

Though most physicians are using e-prescribing, significant opportunities to expand and maximize e-prescribing services remain. In 2014, 90% of U.S. pharmacies could accept electronic prescriptions, 70% of physicians used e-prescribing via an electronic health record (EHR), and each state had an e-prescribing rate of 41% or above, according to the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology. While these numbers are likely even higher today, healthcare analysts say that cost, implementation, and security issues associated with e-prescribing must be addressed.

E-PRESCRIBING POTENTIAL

The global e-prescribing market was valued at more than $250 million in 2013, and is estimated to grow to $887.8 million by 2019, according to a 2014 study by Persistence Market Research.

When e-prescribing is used accurately and efficiently it reduces prescribing errors and saves patients-and the healthcare system-time and money. In late 2012, Surescripts, one of the largest e-prescribing networks in the U.S., estimated that an increase in first-fill medication adherence combined with other e-prescribing benefits could save the U.S. between $140 billion and $240 billion in healthcare costs over the next 10 years.

“Payers know that healthier patients cost less money, says Linda Stotsky, director of Business Development, North American Healthcare in the U.S. market for LogicNets, Inc. "E-prescribing drives down drug costs by including decision support, formulary information, medical history and drug history. This helps physicians make decisions that lead to a lower expenditure on drugs and a decrease in adverse drug events.”

E-prescribing also increases patient adherence, which leads to fewer hospital readmissions and promotes better health outcomes. A Surescripts study found that e-prescribing increased patient adherence by 10% compared to written prescriptions between 2008 and 2010. With the help of e-prescribing, patients no longer have to spend time taking prescriptions to a pharmacy, waiting for them to be filled and picking them up-all factors that decrease the chances of patients taking their medication.

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