ONC: E-prescribing continues upward trend

Federal policies have helped drive the rapid adoption of physician e-prescribing since 2008, according to a new report from the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT.

As of April 2014, 70 percent of physicians were e-prescribing using an EHR on the Surescripts network, which represents a significant increase since the passage of incentives under the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act. The EHR incentive program, for which providers must meet the program objective of e-prescribing, also has fueled growth.

E-prescribing has increased in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, with physicians in all states e-prescribing at a rate above 40 percent. Moreover, all states showed double-digit increases in the proportion of physicians e-prescribing using an EHR between December 2008 and April 2014, according to the report.

States with the highest physician e-prescribing growth during this time period included Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, New Hampshire and Wisconsin.

On the pharmacy side, nearly all U.S. community pharmacies are enabled to accept e-prescriptions. As of April 2014, every state has at least nine in ten community pharmacies enabled to accept e-prescriptions. From 2008 to 2013, the volume of new and renewal prescriptions sent electronically has increased 13-fold, according to the report.

Read it here.