Surescripts(R) To More Than Double The Number Of Physicians Using E-Prescribing In 2009

Main Category: Primary Care / General Practice
Also Included In: Public Health
Article Date: 06 Oct 2009 - 1:00 PDT

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Surescripts, The Nation's E-Prescription Network, announced that more than 140,000 (23 percent) of all office-based physicians, nurse practitioners and physician assistants in the United States are now e-prescribing. At the current pace, Surescripts projects that its total number of active e-prescribers in 2009 will more than double the 74,000 active e-prescribers at the end of 2008.*

"E-prescribing is worthwhile for me because I can create a prescription in one-quarter of the time it took me previously, as it is automatically recorded into our system," said Dr. Greg Fuller, a family physician in Keller, Texas. "This is also very beneficial for tracking and managing potential drug interactions with other medications. Plus, it solves the age-old problem of illegible handwriting."

"The e-prescribing process adds efficiencies to our practice in many ways, as time-consuming faxes have been eliminated, making our patient service more efficient," said Dr. Narinder Batra, internist and pediatrician at Lenawee Adult & Pediatric Medicine located in Adrian, Mich. "We also no longer need to regenerate prescriptions, due to the automatic electronic record keeping. Formulary review also significantly reduces costs, and drug interactions and allergies are also checked which avoids complications."

Surescripts also announced that physicians can now choose from more than 200 types of e-prescribing and electronic medical record (EMR) systems that have been certified and are connected to the Surescripts network -- a 38 percent increase over the number available at the start of 2009.** The growth in certified software makes the vital capabilities that define e-prescribing available to more physicians and the communities they serve.

Physicians and other prescribers use software certified by Surescripts to establish a secure, electronic link to pharmacy benefit managers and thousands of health plans nationwide. This allows them to confirm coverage and look up information such as prescription co-pays and the availability of generic alternatives for two-thirds of all Americans. With their patient's consent, prescribers can also access prescription history. Lastly, prescribers use the Surescripts network to send e-prescriptions to any of 51,000 retail pharmacies (representing 84 percent of all retail pharmacies) or six of the largest mail order pharmacies.***

"The Nation's E-Prescription Network benefits patients in every state in the nation," said Harry Totonis, president and CEO of Surescripts. "Whether it is the convenience of making one trip to the pharmacy or receiving your prescription by mail, or the improved safety of legible prescriptions and providing doctors a more complete prescription history, or the savings that come from a patient and their doctor knowing about and selecting lower-cost prescription alternatives -- the Surescripts network makes these benefits available to millions of patients cared for by more than 140,000 physicians, nurse practitioners and physician assistants nationwide."

The Nation's E-Prescription Network

In addition to announcing the growth in physicians and software vendors on the Surescripts network, Surescripts also released a revamped company logo featuring the tagline "The Nation's E-Prescription Network™." The redesigned logo is the next step in a comprehensive rebranding and education campaign that seeks to raise the visibility and understanding of the benefits of e-prescribing for all Americans. To view the logo, go to http://www.surescripts.com.

"Our brand reinforces the fact that Surescripts is at the center of the nation's move toward digital healthcare," said Rick Ratliff, executive vice president for customers and markets and group executive at Surescripts. "We believe that physicians and their patients are ready to leave the paper behind -- and it starts with e-prescriptions."

* To find out which physicians and pharmacies use e-prescriptions in a particular community, visitors to http://www.surescripts.com can simply type in a zip code or select a state and town.

** For a full list of Surescripts software certified for prescribers, go tohttp://www.surescripts.com/certified.

*** To view a full list of the payers, pharmacy benefit managers and pharmacies connected to the Surescripts network, go here.

Source
Surescripts