WASHINGTON – Rhode Island ranked second in the nation for electronic prescribing in 2008, while Massachusetts remained in first place, according to figures released today by Surescripts LLC.
Rhode Island physicians transmitted 17.3 percent of their prescriptions electronically last year, according to an audit of data compiled by Alexandria, Va.-based Surescripts, which operates the largest electronic prescription network in the U.S. That was up from 9.1 percent in 2007 and 5.7 percent in 2006.
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Surescripts said just under 40 percent of Rhode Island doctors – or 863 of the state’s physicians – were using e-prescriptions at the end of 2008, up from 28.1 percent the prior year.
Nearly 83 percent of patients in Rhode Island now have their information stored in Surescripts’ e-prescribing network, and 96.8 percent of the state’s community pharmacies are activated for e-prescribing.
In a statement, Gov. Donald L. Carcieri said the state’s leading ranking “highlights the continued efforts and progress Rhode Island has made in increasing the adoption of electronic prescribing among healthcare providers and pharmacies. This success has resulted in marked improvements to patient safety.”
In the Bay State, Surescripts found that 20.5 percent of prescriptions were electronically routed in 2008, up from just 2.3 percent three years earlier. By comparison, only about 4.5 percent of all prescriptions filled nationwide were routed electronically last year.
“Electronic prescribing saves money, improves efficiency and, most importantly, reduces life or death medical errors,” U.S. Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., said in a statement. “While we debate how to reform our health care system, improve quality and lower costs, one of our top priorities should include modernizing the way physicians write prescriptions.”
The figures, which measure the volume of new prescriptions and refill responses electronically routed over the Surescripts network, were released today to coincide with the company’s fourth annual Safe-Rx Awards, which were presented at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. The awards are presented by Surescripts, the National Association of Community Pharmacists and the National Association of Chain Drug Stores.
Massachusetts and Rhode Island have respectively ranked first and second in each of the four years that the Safe-Rx Awards have been presented. Maine, which entered the top ranks for the first time this year at ninth place, was the only other New England state to make the top 10. But Vermont ranked first on the most-improved list.
Surescripts singled out for praise the Rhode Island Quality Institute, a nonprofit that promotes health information technology, for its efforts in boosting e-prescribing in the state. The group runs a Statewide Electronic Prescribing Committee that brings together doctors, hospitals, pharmacies and other stakeholders to advance the technology.
“Collaboration has been key to the success of this endeavor,” Dr. David R. Gifford, director of the R.I. Department of Health and the committee’s chair, said in a statement.
Laura Adams, the organization’s president and CEO, traveled to Washington to accept the honor. In a phone interview, she said she was thrilled that Rhode Island had maintained its position after Massachusetts at the top of the list, particularly because there is growing competition among states now that health IT is getting more attention from state and federal officials.
“We’re just thrilled,” Adams said. “We just couldn’t be more happy.”
Adams said the state also is well-positioned to continue to increase its use of health information technology. “I think we are just in the catbird seat when it comes to capitalizing on what’s in the ARRA legislation,” she said, referring to the economic stimulus package President Barack Obama signed into law in February. The state is “advancing in virtually all areas of electronic medicine,” she added.
Surescripts was formed in 2008 by the merger of two competing e-prescription networks, SureScripts and RxHub. Additional information is available at Surescripts.com.
