To eliminate medication errors caused by misreading handwritten prescriptions and other purposes, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) introduced an electronic prescribing system. To encourage doctors to use the system, CMS allowed them to earn a payment of two percent of the total allowed Medicare charges during 2009 and another two percent incentive payment for successfully reporting measures under the Physician Quality Reporting Initiative.
It looks like the incentives are working. The Kaiser Network reports that more doctors are using e-prescribing. In fact, the number has more than doubled to about 12 percent. This month, physicians will begin receiving their bonuses for using the system. As an added bonus, some private health plans are offering reimbursements to e-prescribing physicians.
It certainly makes sense that electronic prescribing reduces medication errors. Not only are dosages easier to read, but doctors can check copayments available for different kind of drugs.
(Photo from National ePrescribing Patient Safety Initiative)
