NEW YORK – More than 1 in 4 prescriptions in Rhode Island – 28 percent – were sent electronically last year, up from 17 percent in 2008, making the state No. 3 in e-prescribing after Massachusetts and Michigan, a new report from Surescripts shows.
The Bay State, which was also No. 1 last year, had 32 percent of prescriptions sent electronically, up from 20 percent in 2008, as 57 percent of doctors e-prescribed at least part of the time.
But Rhode Island, where 49 percent of doctors e-prescribed last year (up from 40 percent in 2008), actually did better than its neighbor on two fronts: 100 percent of pharmacies here could take e-prescriptions, versus 97 percent in Massachusetts, and 100 percent of patients had prescription benefit and history information online, versus 73 percent in the Bay State.
Nationwide, 18 percent of prescriptions were sent electronically in 2009, versus 6.6 percent in 2008. The rise is closely linked to adoption of electronic health records: 70 percent of e-prescriptions were sent through EHR software, rather than stand-alone programs.
“Health information technology offers great promise to improve the quality and efficiency of care for every person,” said Dr. David Blumenthal, national coordinator for health information technology for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, at a Washington, D.C., event to unveil the data and honor the top e-prescribing states.
“Electronic prescribing is a valuable health IT tool for a rapidly growing number of health care providers,” Blumenthal added. “The shift from the traditional paper prescription pad to a secure, electronic format has improved the efficiency, accuracy and quality of the prescription process for both providers and patients.”
Also at the event, Surescripts – an Alexandria, Va.-based group that operates the nation’s largest e-prescribing network – honored U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., with its Safe-Rx Evangelist Award, given to persons or organizations that make an “extraordinary impact” on the awareness and use of e-prescribing to reduce medication errors.
Previous winners include former U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt and the Institute of Medicine.
“I’m honored to receive this award today from Surescripts,” said Whitehouse in a statement. “I’ve fought for widespread adoption of electronic prescribing because I’ve seen the results in my home state of Rhode Island, the first state to achieve 100 percent pharmacy adoption of this technology. E-prescribing reduces cost and increases quality of care, and I’ll continue working to make it available nationwide.”
Whitehouse noted that Rhode Island has been so successful with e-prescribing because of a collaborative effort led by the Rhode Island Quality Institute, which he helped found in 2001.
More recently, Whitehouse led Congressional efforts to encourage the Drug Enforcement Administration to change its policy preventing the e-prescribing of controlled substances, effective last June 1. Previously, such drugs could not be prescribed online (the e-prescribing figures are all for eligible prescriptions, not including these).
To see the full e-prescribing report, including detailed state-by-state data, go to www.surescripts.com/safe-rx.
