Pharmacy benefit managers push Medicare e-prescribing

The AMA sees the move as an unfunded mandate for physicians.

By David Glendinning, AMNews staff. Aug. 13, 2007.

Washington -- The trade group representing pharmacy benefit managers has launched a campaign urging Congress to require physicians to use electronic prescribing in Medicare.

Switching from paper-based drug orders to e-prescribing would be the right move from both a financial and safety standpoint, says the Pharmaceutical Care Management Assn. In a PCMA-commissioned study, the Gorman Health Group concluded that requiring doctors and pharmacies to handle all Part D prescriptions electronically by 2010 would reduce federal health care costs by $29 billion and avoid 1.6 million adverse drug events over the next decade.

A PCMA survey of more than 400 doctors found that most physicians agree that e-prescribing would save money and reduce medication errors. But nearly two out of three respondents said they did not consider adopting electronic prescribing technology a priority.

The association supplemented its study and survey with print ads timed to coincide with this year's congressional debate on Medicare physician payment. "As Congress weighs a $30 billion payment update for Medicare physicians, it should also consider requiring Medicare doctors to use e-prescribing," the ads state.

But now would be the wrong time to make such a policy shift, said American Medical Association Chair-elect Joseph M. Heyman, MD.