"From our viewpoint, the prescription is already prescreened and easy to read - we just type it in and fill it. " eliminates all the communications problems," says Ken McLain, a Newport Beach, Calif.-based pharmacist. Pharmacists, too, see added efficiencies by being able to quickly fill faxed or electronically submitted prescriptions. It gives me the power and support to do a better job." She looked surprised, then said, 'You really know, don't you? You're not just guessing.' Here is a tool I didn't know I needed, but have used every day since I got it. "I pulled out my Palm Pilot and looked the medication up on ePocrates, then told her nausea was not a usual side effect with that medication. "One patient told me last month a drug was making her nauseous," he relates.
#ISCRIBE MEDICATION FREE#
One Palm-based product, ePocrates (which is free to physicians), brings a searchable PDR into the exam room.īruce Bagley, a family physician and board chairman of the American Association of Family Physicians, uses ePocrates - with unexpectedly positive results. Either way, e-prescribing systems mean no more guessing or memorizing lists of drugs.Īn unexpected benefit is that handheld prescription devices may bolster physicians' level of experience and caring in the eyes of some patients. And ReadyScript's wireless system makes new formulary data available to subscribers immediately via instant connectivity.
Users of the ePhysician service, for example, receive new formulary information when the physician "syncs" with a desktop computer.
#ISCRIBE MEDICATION UPDATE#
Most vendors update formularies weekly or more often, based on input from health plans, pharmaceutical benefit management firms, and formulary management companies. The long-term goal: to increase accuracy and minimize medication errors, which in 1993 were estimated to account for about 7,000 deaths - more than double the number from a decade before.Ĭhecking formulary compliance - a time-consuming, yet crucial part of prescribing - becomes simpler with most e-prescribing tools.
Avoiding the phone calls is great, too - that's very time-consuming for my staff."Īmong the challenges e-prescribing helps avoid are illegible handwriting, incorrect dosages, unclear instructions, and often-dangerous errors related to confusing similarly named drugs. "I can easily go through a list of 10 or 12 descriptions of a drug - side effects, contraindications, potential conflicts.
"Electronic prescribing is quick and easy," says Joseph Goldberg, MD, a San Francisco physician who uses ePhysician's system. The whole process takes no more time than writing a conventional prescription - and has additional safeguards built in. To e-prescribe, a physician opens the patient's electronic record, (stored on the e-prescribing device), selects a condition or medication, checks for drug interactions or allergies, confirms the medication is included on the patient's health plan formulary, enters dosage information, and sends the prescription via fax - or electronically - to the pharmacy of the patient's choice. Each of the estimated 2.5 billion prescriptions dispensed in the United States every year takes valuable time - especially when taking into account the physicians' time fielding pharmacist calls to confirm prescriptions, replace non-formulary drugs, and related tasks. Some companies even provide needed equipment, and most services increase productivity in exchange for a minimal investment.Īn e-prescribing system's greatest boon is its promise of a streamlined prescription process. Aside from spending some time to set up the equipment and master the learning curve, e-prescribing is virtually painless. So what's the catch? There seem to be relatively few. One company, iScribe, even offers physicians a discount on their malpractice insurance premium after using its product for one year. Electronic prescribing technologies are praised by their advocates as time-savers that also reduce the risk of error and liability. "E-prescribing," as the technique is commonly known, is probably one of the most practical and accessible ways for physician practices to jump into the electronic age. But with the near-daily deluge of information about technological advances to help physicians practice more efficiently, you may not have made the leap across one of the most promising frontiers of paperless medical offices: electronic prescribing.
You've seen the advertisements perhaps you've even spoken to sales reps at medical society meetings or national conferences.
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