ePrescribing News
2007 ePrescribing News
December 21, 2007
I.T. Mandate Out of Medicare Bill
Congress has passed legislation reauthorizing Medicare, Medicaid and SCHIP programs without an information technology mandate requested by the Bush administration. President Bush has said he will sign the bill, S. 2499.
The bill’s particular importance is the replacement of a scheduled 10% cut in physician Medicare payments with a 0.5% increase, and continued funding of the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP).
But Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt two weeks ago sent congressional leaders a letter that laid out several conditions, including mandated I.T. use, for the bill to be signed. That included conditioning receipt of a portion of any Medicare fee adjustment to adoption of certified electronic health information technology. “Physicians who do not adopt appropriate, available technology should receive a lower payment than those who do,” Leavitt told lawmakers.”
Talk of I.T. mandates, particularly by Leavitt, is a dramatic turnaround in philosophy for the Bush administration. On his Weblog in November, Leavitt endorsed mandated electronic prescribing for Medicare and beyond, indicating he had lost patience waiting for physicians to adopt the technology on their own.
Also in November, the American Health Information Community, an HHS advisory body that Leavitt chairs, announced it would recommend that Leavitt seek congressional authority to mandate e-prescribing in the Medicare program...
December 19, 2007
House, Senate Bills Promote E-Prescribing
Legislation Includes Grants for Physician
'...Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., and Rep. Allyson Schwartz, D-Pa., have introduced legislation that, if passed, would use financial incentives and disincentives to encourage the adoption of electronic prescribing, or e-prescribing, under Medicare.
Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., left, urges support for e-prescribing legislation during a recent press conference in Washington. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, far right, and Sen. John Sununu, R-N.H., center left, look on. The bills, S.B. 2408 and H.R. 4296, (at the THOMAS Web site, type "S 2408" or "HR 4296" in the search box after selecting "Bill Number") respectively, include provisions for grants to physicians to help with the start-up costs of acquiring and implementing e-prescribing systems. They also propose a system for providing permanent Medicare bonuses to physicians who use the technology...
http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now/government-medicine/20071219eprescribing.printerview.html
Senators press Justice to permit e-prescribing of controlled substances
By Nancy Ferris
Nineteen senators have written to Attorney General Michael Mukasey, urging him to speed up Drug Enforcement Administration action to permit electronic prescribing of controlled substances.
“DEA regulations permitting [electronic prescribing for controlled substances, or EPCS] have been delayed for years, inhibiting wider uptake of e-prescribing, and postponing the realization of this technology’s benefits,” the senators’ letter said.
“It is our belief that both the health care and law enforcement communities would benefit greatly from a secure EPCS system, and that technological solutions are at hand. We urge your prompt attention to this matter, and request that DEA issue regulations for EPCS as quickly as possible.”
The letter follows a Dec. 4 hearing of the Senate Judiciary Committee at which Joseph T. Rannazzisi, deputy assistant administrator in charge of the agency’s Office of Diversion Control, said he could not be specific about DEA’s plans to revise federal rules governing dispensation of controlled substances, such as painkillers, antidepressants and some drugs used to treat asthma in children. He promised to provide a timetable within two months...
http://www.govhealthit.com/online/news/350150-1.html
December 7, 2007
Google News Alerts
CMS to end e-prescription fax exemption - Beginning January 2009 ...
Beginning January 2009, computer-generated fax prescriptions will no longer be exempted from the requirement to meet the NCPDP SCRIPT standard according to ...
December 6, 2007
Google News Alerts
E-Prescribing Mandate Premature, Says HHS Advisory Group
By sporter@aafp.org
The American Health Information Community, or AHIC, recently submitted a list of recommendations regarding mandatory electronic prescribing, known as e-prescribing, in Medicare to HHS Secretary Michael Leavitt. ...
AAFP News Now - http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now.html
December 5, 2007
Google News Alerts
PCMA Supports Bipartisan Legislation Calling for E-Prescribing ...
Earthtimes - London,UK
Yesterday, the Administration said it wants significant health IT reform in a Medicare bill and that doctors who choose not to e-prescribe or use electronic ...
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White House Threatens Veto of Medicare Legislation
Kaiser network.org - Washington,DC,USA
A senate aide said the bill would offer a 1% bonus for every e-prescription written and one-time funding for startup costs. Physicians who do not adopt the ...
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December 4, 2007
E-Prescribing Mandate Expected in Senate Medicare Package
Medicare legislation emerging this week in the Senate likely will include a phased-in requirement that physicians use electronic prescribing systems, CongressDaily reports.
Sens. John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), who also plan to introduce stand-alone e-prescribing legislation this week, are working with Senate Finance Committee Chair Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and ranking member Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) to include the provision in the Medicare bill, according to aides.
The e-prescribing provision will be an essential part of an expensive Medicare package because it is expected to save $5 billion to $15 billion over 10 years, according to some estimates. Most of the savings will come from lower drug costs and fewer harmful medication interactions.
"Requiring e-prescribing in Medicare would be the single biggest patient safety improvement this country has seen in the last 20 years," Pharmaceutical Care Management Association President Mark Merritt said. He added that e-prescribing must be mandatory and adopted in a time frame "that creates a real sense of urgency" among physicians to achieve the predicted savings and safety improvements.
AMA Opposition
"Physicians are eager to adopt new technologies that have the potential to increase patient safety and quality of care, but hitting doctors with an unfunded e-prescribing mandate at the same time the government plans to cut Medicare physician payments 10% next year is untenable," American Medical Association Board Chair Edward Langston said.
E-prescribing startup costs of about $2,500 and productivity losses during transition make small practice physicians reluctant to adopt the technology, CongressDaily reports.
A Kerry aide said, "The Kerry office has met on numerous occasions with the AMA, and we are addressing the vast majority of their concerns" (Johnson, CongressDaily, 12/3).
http://www.ihealthbeat.org/articles/2007/12/4/EPrescribing-Mandate-Expected-in-Senate-Medicare-Package.aspx?p=1&tn=20071204
December 3, 2007
Google News Alert
AMA meeting: Delegates seek tax credit to help pay for EMRs
The AMA House of Delegates said physicians should get a full, refundable tax credit to help them buy and use health information technology such as electronic medical record and prescribing systems...
http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2007/12/03/prsj1203.htm
December 2, 2007
AHIC and E-prescribing mandates
By Mark Frisse(Mark Frisse)
And I'm still looking at all of the data that suggests that thousands or tens of thousands of people in this country are impacted each year because we don't have 100 percent e-prescription. And so my question is, this is the 17th ...
Mark Frisse's Policy Blog - http://www.markfrisse.com/policy/
Listen to the November 13 AHIC web cast and view the transcript here http://www.hhs.gov/healthit/community/meetings/m20071113.html
November 28, 2007
CMS to end e-prescription fax exemption
CMS has finalized a rule that will discontinue an exemption for computer-generated faxes from the NCPDP SCRIPT standard. The new rule is set to go into effect January 2009. According to CMS, most e-prescribing software can meet the standard, though some providers may have to upgrade their software to comply. According to the agency, the changes will force additional costs onto pharmacies not currently conducting transactions that comply with the SCRIPT standard, but CMS argues that "those costs would be balanced by administrative savings." The change will not impact the current exemption for long-term care facilities. Noncompliant computer faxes will still be accepted as a backup in instances of transmission failure or other communication problem with a compliant e-prescription.
http://www.drugtopics.com/drugtopics/Drug+Topics+Daily+News/CMS-to-end-e-prescription-fax-exemption/ArticleStandard/Article/detail/475690?contextCategoryId=10239&ref=25
E-Prescriptions
By Newt Gingrich, John Kerry
This document is available here as an Adobe Acrobat PDF.
...According to the Institute of Medicine, Americans average one medication mistake for every day spent in a hospital, accounting for more than 1.5 million injuries each year. Medication errors will kill at least seven thousand Americans this year. Of the more than three billion prescriptions written each year, doctors report nearly one billion require a follow-up between providers and pharmacies for clarification. The cost to our health care system is in the billions.
One reason for this mess is that 95 percent of prescriptions are transmitted using five-thousand-year-old technology: pen and paper...
...The benefits of e-prescribing are so important that the Institute of Medicine has called for every doctor and nurse to prescribe electronically by the year 2010...
...If a majority of doctors do not e-prescribe a few years down the road, the government should require all doctors to adopt e-prescribing or face financial penalties. E-prescribing should become a condition of doing business with Medicare. This is no different than the requirements other suppliers expect to see when they negotiate with customers.
A new study by the Department of Health and Human Services estimates that if 18 percent of doctors in Medicare adopt e-prescribing, the government will save $4 billion and nearly three million adverse drug events can be prevented over five years...
http://www.aei.org/publications/filter.all,pubID.27157/pub_detail.asp
November 16, 2007
E-PRESCRIPTIONS
The benefits of adopting electronic prescriptions are clear and compelling, say John Kerry, a Democratic senator from Massachusetts, and Newt Gingrich, a Republican and former speaker of the House.
For example, when a doctor "writes" an electronic prescription, a computer can warn of potentially dangerous interactions with other medications or allergies and thereby prevent thousands of unnecessary hospitalizations each year. E-prescribing can also let a physician know whether a drug is covered by a patient's insurance or whether an alternative generic is available at a fraction of the cost.
The federal government can lead by requiring that doctors who do business with Medicare convert to e-prescribing. This can be done by using market forces and the federal government's purchasing power to align financial incentives, say Kerry and Gingrich:
- First, offer bonus payments to Medicare doctors who already prescribe electronically or who adopt the technology.
- Such payments will help doctors, especially those with small practices without many patients, to pay for startup costs.
- If a majority of doctors don't e-prescribe a few years down the road, the government should require all doctors to adopt e-prescribing or face financial penalties.
- E-prescribing should become a condition of doing business with Medicare.
A new study by the Department of Health and Human Services estimates that if 18 percent of doctors in Medicare adopt e-prescribing, the government will save $4 billion and nearly three million adverse drug events can be prevented over five years.
Source: John Kerry and Newt Gingrich, "E-Prescriptions," Wall Street Journal, November 16, 2007.
For text: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119518213622195332.html
http://www.ncpa.org/sub/dpd/index.php?page=article&Article_ID=15266
November 15, 2007
Google News Alert
AHIC weighs recommendation to require e-prescribing
Government Health IT - Falls Church,VA,USA
"Yet we are stilling looking at data showing thousands of people are impacted each year because we don't have e-prescription. "This is an obvious issue and ...
http://www.govhealthit.com/online/news/350118-1.html
November 14, 2007
Google News Alert
HHS proposes standards for voluntary e-prescribing
Healthcare IT News - New Gloucester,ME,USA
If some members of an HHS advisory panel have their way, however, the government will force doctors to e-prescribe. The standards follow yesterday's meeting ...
http://www.healthcareitnews.com/story.cms?id=8142
November 06, 2007
Medicare To Pay Bonuses for Use of EHRs, E-Prescriptions
Medicare in 2008 for the first time will provide bonuses to doctors and other providers for using electronic health records and electronic prescriptions, according to an official notice of its 2008 payment rules, Government Health IT reports.
EHRs and e-prescribing technology are two of the 119 quality measures listed by CMS for 2008. Doctors who report their compliance with as many as three of the measures will qualify for a bonus of as much as 1.5% of their Medicare fees. A pool of $1.35 billion will be available to pay incentives in 2008, Government Health IT reports...
http://www.ihealthbeat.org/articles/2007/11/6/Medicare-To-Pay-Bonuses-for-Use-of-EHRs-EPrescriptions.aspx?topicID=53
October 31, 2007
Google News Alert
E-prescription initiative reduced drug interaction errors
An examination of data in Michigan reveals that e-prescribing reduces potential drug interaction problems.
Drug Topics - Drug Topics Daily News - http://www.drugtopics.com/drugtopics/Drug+Topics+Daily+News/Article/list/10239
October 22, 2007
Google News Alert
Gingrich's causes — and health group clients — can be profitable
Atlanta Journal Constitution - GA, USA
Gingrich then cited three companies for helping provide free "e-prescription" software to connect physicians directly to pharmacies. ...
October 16, 2007
E-prescribing ups number of prescriptions filled
By: Joseph Conn / HITS staff writer
Story posted: October 16, 2007 - 9:43 am EDT
Pharmacists saw better than an 11% increase in the number of prescriptions at their stores and, maybe, their cash registers, too, when physicians started using electronic prescribing systems, according to a recently released announcement about a study conducted by the giant drugstore chain Walgreen Co., the electronic prescribing exchange SureScripts and data-miner IMS Health.
Researchers tracked the prescription data provided by IMS Health on 100 prescribers in five states for three months before and three months after they began using e-prescribing systems from 15 different vendors, a joint Walgreen-SureScript news release about the study said.
In the three months before the participating prescribers started using an e-prescription system, their pharmacies received 272,103 prescriptions, the statement said. In the three months after the prescribers started using e-Rx systems, prescriptions from them jumped by 30,513, or 11.2%, to 302,616, it said. The study included data from 93 pharmacy organizations—not just Walgreen Co.—at 14,638 locations.
The 19-month study period stretched from April 2005 through November of last year. Results were adjusted for seasonal differences in prescribing…
http://www.modernhealthcare.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071016/FREE/71016001/0/FRONTPAGE
September 27, 2007
Google News Alerts
East Cleveland Ohio - Cleveland History - Decades
By Administrator
the not-for-profit Cleveland Clinic is a leading academic medical center serving the Cleveland, Ohio Enable e-prescription functionality between clinic and retail pharmacies; Improve physician. Richter & Associates, Cleveland ...
East Cleveland Ohio Local Blog - http://eastclevelandohio.net/east-cleveland-oh-blog
Tips For Buying Quality Medicines Online
By wpman2
E-Prescription features offer 24 hour online services to you and shopping this way will take only few minutes. Online drug store pharmacies present information on baby matters, health matters and ... Besides, the patients should be able ...
Online Drug 1 - http://onlinedrug1.thedruginfo.com
August 17, 2007
Google News Alert
Alaska is last state with e-prescription
Columbia Daily Tribune - Columbia,MO,USA
By JAMES HALPIN AP Writer AP Photo/Anonymous ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) -- Electronic drug prescriptions can be delivered to pharmacists in all 50 states for ...
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August 16, 2007
Google News Alert
Think Tank Strives to Reduce Medication Errors
By Jerri Lynn Ward, J.D.
"Because medication nonadherence is estimated to account for between 10% to 20% of hospital admissions and adds up to $100 billion a year to health care costs in the US alone, innovations related to e-prescription and improving ...
Garlo Ward, PC - http://garloward.com
August 15, 2007
Google News Alerts
Pharmacy info exchange now legal nationwide
Government Health IT - Falls Church,VA,USA
Until now, a rule required that an e-prescription go directly from the doctor to the pharmacy rather than through an intermediary network such as the ...
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SureScripts(R) Joins With Physicians, Payers and Employers to ...
Market Wire (press release) - USA
... innovations related to e-prescription and improving patients' success in taking medications as prescribed have the potential to greatly improve both ...
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August 9, 2007
Google News Alert
Rural Health Center Begins e-Prescription Service
WBOY-TV - Clarksburg,WV,USA
Joe Manchin signed the bill allowing the practice, Marshall University is offering free e-prescription software to doctors in the state. ...
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