Opinion

One-stop site: E-prescribing help for physicians

The AMA has created an extensive online resource.

Posted April 20, 2009.

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By the close of 2008, only about 13% of physicians were prescribing electronically. The prescription pad and pen still rule in most offices.

But doctors are getting a nudge to automate their prescribing process. Physicians who prescribe electronically for their Medicare patients will be eligible for incentive payments. This year's bonus will be equal to 2% of all Medicare Part B pay for the year.

Before the monetary incentives there was friendly persuasion. A 2006 Institute of Medicine report called on all prescribers to have an electronic prescribing system in place by 2010, saying such systems would help reduce medication errors. In November 2008, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services released a guide for doctors who plan to seek Medicare e-prescribing incentives that started this year.

Will all this be enough to get doctors to embrace e-prescribing? Hard to tell given the expense and uncertainties about choosing the right system.

The American Medical Association has help for physicians at a timely, in-depth resource that provides them with the tools and information they need to make decisions about implementing electronic prescribing in their practices.

On April 1, the AMA launched its e-prescribing learning center, a one-stop shop for what doctors need to know to navigate the proper course when considering and adopting e-prescribing (link).

The Web site spells out how e-prescribing works, what it can do for a doctor's practice, how to get an office ready to implement it and how to choose an e-prescribing system. Many features of the online center are available only to AMA members, but some starter educational tools and information can be accessed for free by all visitors to the site.

Downloadable in-depth components include a description of Medicare's electronic prescribing incentive program, a survey to help doctors assess their readiness to implement an e-prescribing system, and templates to guide staffing and planning for the project.

The center includes the latest information on federal and state programs that offer e-prescribing incentives.

A section on system costs explores the expense and potential benefits to a practice over time, and examines up-front and ongoing costs and financing options. Another site highlight, according to the AMA, is that it offers complete and unbiased data on vendor prices and features.

Another feature allows doctors to calculate an e-prescribing system's impact on their practices. Physicians can find out whether they're eligible for the Medicare incentive and figure out their annual incentive payments. The calculator addresses questions such as how many prescription renewal requests a practice receives by phone or fax in an average week.

With this new resource, doctors who want to pursue e-prescribing have detailed information at their fingertips to lead them to an informed decision on one of the most daunting and costly decisions facing practices today.

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