Check Your Email and Call Me in the Morning? Numbers of E-Prescriptions Predicted to Rise

Three out of four doctors in the United States will be issuing prescriptions electronically in the next five years and the high-tech method will gain further popularly after that, according to a newly released estimate.

Efforts to increase the number of electronic prescriptions, which are sent directly to pharmacies over computers without issuing paper prescriptions to patients, got a major shot in the arm with the recent passage of the economic stimulus bill signed by President Barack Obama. The bill included about $19 billion to promote e-prescriptions and other improvements to healthcare information technology.

Proponents of e-prescriptions, as they are called, say the technology is faster, cheaper, safer, and more convenient for both physicians and patients than traditional paper prescriptions. Critics say e-prescriptions are susceptible to problems, such as hackers and other security and privacy issues, and insist that the old-fashioned paper method is still best.

For companies looking to cut healthcare costs and anyone who has ever struggled to read a doctor’s messy handwriting, the move to go high-tech with prescriptions is good news.

Dramatic Increases Forecast

Only about 13 percent of U.S. doctors currently issue prescriptions electronically, meaning most still hand out paper prescriptions directly to patients who then take the prescription to pharmacies to be filled. A new report from the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association predicted that 75 of doctors will use e-prescriptions by 2014 and that by 2018, 90 percent of doctors will issue them.

About 76 percent of U.S. retail pharmacies are already set up to handle e-prescriptions, according to the report. However, many doctors citing unfamiliarity with the process or the costs associated with it have been unwilling to begin using the electronic prescription system.

Savings from E-Prescribing

The report said e-prescribing may save the government $22 billion over the next 10 years, which means it could one day more than cover the $19 billion in spending in the stimulus bill.

The promotion of e-prescriptions is just part of Obama’s sweeping plan to overhaul American healthcare, which despite being the most expensive in the world, does not consistently achieve the best results. Also, Medicare recently started offering financial bonuses to doctors who use e-prescribing.

E-Prescriptions Are the Future

Paper prescriptions seem to be heading the way of the compact disc, VCR, and other out-of-date products which, for their time, were considered state of the art. In an increasingly modern day when people get their news and other communications emailed directly to them in tiny hand-held computers, download music over the Internet, and record their favorite television programs with the click of a button, getting paper prescriptions is starting to feel like riding a horse and buggy.

With privacy and security concerns adequately addressed, the system of e-prescriptions will allow patients to fill prescriptions efficiently and quickly, improving the nation’s antiquated healthcare system while saving millions of dollars.

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