So-called “e-prescribing” systems that allow doctors to select lower-cost or generic medications can save $845,000 per 100,000 patients per year, according to a study funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
Complete use of e-prescribing systems with formulary decision support could reduce prescription drug spending by up to $3.9 million per 100,000 patients per year, according to the authors.
Many employer health plans already rely on lists of prescription drugs known as formularies. Under these arrangements, patients are often charged the lowest co-payment for generic medications.
Researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston compared changes in prescriptions written in three formulary tiers before and after e-prescribing systems were launched. The study examined data from two Massachusetts health insurers.
Doctors using e-prescribing with formulary decision support increased generic prescriptions by 3.3 percent, the authors found. The study is in the Dec. 8, 2008, Archives of Internal Medicine.
By Rita Zeidner, senior writer for HR Magazine.
3.3% Increase in prescription of generic drugs when using an e-prescription system with formulary decision support.
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Posted April 29, 2009 by admin under E-Prescription
