Report: E-prescribing improves first-fill med rate
E-prescribing leads to a significant increase in first-fill medication adherence, according to a study from Surescripts. Analysis of de-identified data suggest that the increase in first-fill medication adherence combined with other e-prescribing benefits could, over the next decade, lead to between $140 billion and $240 billion in healthcare savings and improved health outcomes.
Surescripts collaborated with pharmacies and pharmacy benefit managers on the study to quantify the benefits of e-prescribing. Reviewers analyzed de-identified data sets representing over 40 million prescription records--comparing e-prescriptions with paper, phoned- and faxed-prescriptions--to measure the impact on first-fill medication adherence.
The data showed a consistent 10 percent increase in patient first-fill medication adherence (i.e., new prescriptions that were picked up by the patient) among physicians who adopted e-prescribing technology when compared with physicians who did not use e-prescribing. Physicians who adopted e-prescribing used the technology to route up to 40 percent of their prescriptions electronically during the time of the study. Additionally, Surescripts estimated that first-fill medication adherence rates will continue to improve as e-prescribing adoption and usage increase.
Surescripts collaborated with pharmacies and pharmacy benefit managers on the study to quantify the benefits of e-prescribing. Reviewers analyzed de-identified data sets representing over 40 million prescription records--comparing e-prescriptions with paper, phoned- and faxed-prescriptions--to measure the impact on first-fill medication adherence.
The data showed a consistent 10 percent increase in patient first-fill medication adherence (i.e., new prescriptions that were picked up by the patient) among physicians who adopted e-prescribing technology when compared with physicians who did not use e-prescribing. Physicians who adopted e-prescribing used the technology to route up to 40 percent of their prescriptions electronically during the time of the study. Additionally, Surescripts estimated that first-fill medication adherence rates will continue to improve as e-prescribing adoption and usage increase.
Beth Walsh,
Editor
Editor Beth earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism and master’s in health communication. She has worked in hospital, academic and publishing settings over the past 20 years. Beth joined TriMed in 2005, as editor of CMIO and Clinical Innovation + Technology. When not covering all things related to health IT, she spends time with her husband and three children.