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Analysis Paper ePrescribe for Medicare by Beverly Strong
University of Phoenix Online
System Analysis and Design
June 3, 2010

“E-Prescribing a prescriber's ability to send electronically an accurate, error-free and understandable prescription directly to a pharmacy, from the point-of-care is an important element in improving the quality of patient care.” (Tubman, 2010). E-prescribing makes sure that the prescriber is providing enough specific information for the pharmacist to fill the prescription, including the name of the drug, the dosage, its physical form, the route, and the physicians’ instructions. It eliminates the time and effort of trying to understand the prescriber's handwriting and a chance of an error. Additionally, “E-prescribing significantly reduces the chance that the prescriber's intentions are misinterpreted.” (Tubman, 2010). E-prescribing is often used in conjunction with clinical decision support to ensure that any drug to drug interactions or drug to diagnosis issues are found and reported to the physician before the prescription order is completed.
In addition, medication histories can be retrieved from pharmacies and insurers, to give a more complete picture of what each patient has been prescribed and has been filled. Physicians can also discover which drugs are expensive for their patients based on their insurance. The conversation that I had to the pharmacist at the hospital he said that working with the patient to find drugs they can afford increases the chance their prescription(s) will be filled and they will improve. In the articles that I read it states that E-prescribing software is considered one of the most effective uses of Healthcare IT. Medicare program created payment incentives for physicians who write eprescriptions. In 2010, the incentives are an increase of 2% in revenue for each patient when e-prescribing software is used. The 2009 HITECH Act, electronic prescribing is required as part of any EMR (EHR) which qualifies for Medicare reimbursement in 2011.
“The inclusion of electronic prescribing in the Medicare Modernization Act (MMA) of 2003 gave momentum to the movement, and the July 2006 Institute of Medicine report on the role of e-prescribing in reducing medication errors received widespread publicity, helping to build awareness of e-prescribing's role in enhancing patient safety” (Center of Medicare and Medicaid Services, 2010).. Adopting the standards to facilitate e-prescribing is one of the key action items in the government’s plan to expedite the adoption of electronic medical records and build a national electronic health information infrastructure in the United States. (Center of Medicare and Medicaid Services, 2010).
The MMA created a new voluntary prescription drug benefit under Medicare Part D. Although e-prescribing will be optional for physicians and pharmacies, Medicare Part D will require drug plans participating in the new prescription benefit to support electronic prescribing. The law mandated the use of “electronic prescription program” should any Part D plan providers and pharmacies voluntarily choose to prescribe using computer systems. It also called for the establishment of standards for the electronic transmission of prescriptions and certain other information for covered Part D drugs.
The design of Allscripts will let the physicians see details of the patients’ prescription insurance coverage. See the patient’s insurance plan formulary, including tiered medications Know which medications will be covered and at what cost to the patient. See any preauthorization requirements and, in some applications, complete the process.
Choose a medication appropriate for the individual patient. View warnings, alerts or cautions related to the specific medication and/or the patient’s medication history. View multiple medication options to avoid potential cross-drug or other harmful reactions See indication, dosage and administration information.