Anesthesia Billing & Management

Last summer, we mentioned data that suggested e-prescriptions are on the rise. Surescripts, which operates the nation’s largest e-prescription network, stated that about 36 percent of physicians file prescriptions electronically. However, that number increased by about 70 percent from 2009 to 2010.

That trend appears to be continuing as Surescripts just announced that over 52 percent of office-based doctors are now use e-prescribing.

E-prescriptions are seen by many as an important step in the evolution of our healthcare system. They make for a more accurate, reliable and secure electronic prescription system and also allow prescribers to access important information regarding their patients’ medications and health plan coverage.

Here’s the latest data from Surescripts regarding the growth of e-prescribing nationwide:

• 52 percent (291,000) of all office-based physicians now actively use e-prescribing compared with fewer than 10 percent three years ago

• There are 357,000 active prescribers on the Surescripts network (including office-based physicians, nurse practitioners and physician assistants)

• 94 percent of retail pharmacies nationwide are now connected and receiving e-prescriptions

And finally, here is the list of the top 10 states with the highest rate of e-prescribing:

1.  Massachusetts                
2.  Delaware                
3.  Michigan                    
4.  Connecticut                    
5.  Rhode Island                    
6.  Pennsylvania
7.  South Dakota*
8.  Iowa*
9.  Oregon*
10. North Carolina*

(*New to the top 10)

“In the next five years, we are going to see electronic health information exchange of all types – e-prescribing, clinical summaries, population health – become commonplace and become the rule rather than the exception,” said Dr. John Halamka, chief information officer at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston.