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Electronic Prescribing: Building, Deploying and Using E-prescribing to Save Lives and Save Money
Monday, 08 December 2008
Over the past 150 years, the advancements in medicine, public health and the delivery of care have been nothing short of breathtaking. We routinely achieve feats that were virtually unthinkable even a generation ago. But one facet persists: paper. We have yet to find a way to move beyond paper record keeping. However, electronic prescribing (eprescribing) is a technology whose time has come.
It is the one technology where all of the key barriers to its adoption are being addressed and progress has been made:
Experiences prove that e-prescribing saves lives and saves money;
The technology is inexpensive, and there are many partnerships that offer no-cost solutions to physicians and providers;
There is a secure, nationwide infrastructure to exchange data;
Many technical standards have been finalized to achieve uniformity of data transmission; and
Certification by industry leaders ensures security, privacy and interoperability with hundreds of vendors and products.
This is not to say that challenges do not remain. There are significant, yet achievable steps to the widespread acceptance and use of e-prescribing:
Bridging the gulf between the technology and incentives to its adoption;
Implementing technology that meets the needs of physicians and providers;
Finalizing remaining data standards; and,
Allowing controlled substances to be prescribed electronically.
This white paper was written by representatives from twenty-two organizations, all members of the Center for Health Transformation, from IT vendors and physician groups to hospitals, health plans, pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) and employers. These organizations are leading the way to transform health and healthcare through information technology.
About Center for Health Transformation The Center for Health Transformation is a high-impact collaboration of private and public sector leaders committed to creating a 21st Century Intelligent Health System that saves lives and saves money. For more information, visit www.healthtransformation.net.
Thoughts, comments, news, and reflections about healthcare IT from Microsoft's worldwide health senior director Bill Crounse, MD, on how information technology can improve healthcare delivery and services around the world.
Over the past 150 years, the advancements in medicine, public health and the delivery of care have been nothing short of breathtaking. We routinely achieve feats that were virtually unthinkable even a generation ago. But one facet persists: paper. We have yet to find a way to move beyond paper record keeping. However, electronic prescribing (eprescribing) is a technology whose time has come.
It is the one technology where all of the key barriers to its adoption are being addressed and progress has been made:
