Adoption of E-Prescribing in Healthcare Organizations Essay -- Health

Electronic prescribing (e-prescribing) has the ability to improve the quality, safety and cost effectiveness of health care. Experts have predicted that e-prescribing could avoid over 2 million adverse drugs events annually, of which 130,000 are life-threatening. This report defines e-prescribing and the challenges that may be faced in adopting this system. E-Prescribing The eHealth Initiative defines e-prescribing as â€Å"the use of computing devices to enter, modify, review, and output or communicate drug prescriptions.† (Electronic Prescribing, n.d.) There are varying levels of e-prescribing systems ranging from Level 1 through Level 6. Level 2, which is a â€Å"stand-alone† application, enables providers to order medication electronically but does not include medical patient information. Level 6, which is the most sophisticated, is an integrated system which uses other electronic databases such as the Electronic Health Record (EHR), pharmacy, and Pharmacy Benefit Manager (PBM) systems, which provide greater efficiency, patient safety and the largest return on the investment. The Medicare Part D prescription drug program more formally defines e-prescribing as: E-prescribing means the transmission, using electronic media, of prescription or prescription-related information between a prescriber, dispenser, pharmacy benefit manager or health plan, either directly or through an intermediary, including an e-prescribing network. E-prescribing includes, but is not limited to, two way transmissions between the point of care and the dispenser. This allows the physician to electronically access information regarding a patient’s drug benefit coverage, medication history (including adverse drug events), and to submit the pr... ...ful use incentives. HealthImaging. Retrieved January 23, 2012 from http://www.healthimaging.com/index.php?view=article&id=30707:nchs-more-physicians-applying-for Leavitt, M.O. (2007). Pilot Testing of Initial Electronic Prescribing Standards. Health Information Technology. U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. Retrieved January 23, 2012 from http://healthit.ahrq.gov/portal/server.pt?open=514&objID=5554&mode=2&holderDispla yURL=http://wci-p Popovich, M. (2011, November). e-Prescribing Essentials: Get the Most Out of E-Prescribing. Practical Dermatology. Retrieved January 23, 2012 from http://bmctoday.net/practicaldermatology/2011/11/article.asp?f=e-prescribing-essentials-get-the-mo Wolper, L.F. (2011). Health Care Administration: Planning, Implementing, and Managing Organized Delivery Systems (5th ed.). Sudbury: Jones & Bartlett Publishers.