ONC: E-Prescribing On The Rise

By Katie Wike, contributing writer

A report from the ONC found the implementation of two federal incentive programs has increased the percentage of physicians who e-prescribe.

According the ONC, the rise of e-prescribing can in part be attributed to the implementation of two federal incentive programs. Between 2008 and 2014, “Two important policies that promoted the use of e-prescribing were put into place. The Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act (MIPPA), or the ‘eRx incentive’ program, began in 2008 and offered financial incentives for providers to facilitate the use of e-prescribing. The Medicare and Medicaid Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive Programs, or the meaningful use program, began in 2011.”

The ONC reports electronic prescribing by physicians has increased to 70 percent of all US doctors, up from just 24 percent when the EHR incentive program launched and 7 percent in 2008.

According to iHealth Beat, the ONC examined data from Surescripts, an e-prescribing network, in order to determine changes in pharmacies' ability to accept e-prescriptions, physician e-prescribing rates, and the volume of e-prescriptions. Surescripts released its National Progress Report earlier this year with similar results to that of the ONC.

The states with the greatest growth in e-prescribing were: Iowa, Minnesota, New Hampshire, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. “However, the four states with highest volume of prescriptions - California, Texas, New York, and Florida - are all below the national average. This presents an opportunity to increase the proportion of new and renewals sent electronically among these states,” writes the ONC.