The Continued Rise Of e-Prescribing

By Katie Wike, contributing writer

According to The National Progress Report from Surescripts, 70 percent of U.S. physicians e-prescribed in 2013.

In 2013, and astounding 73 percent of office-based physicians e-prescribed, and 95 percent of pharmacies accepted electronic prescriptions. According to the latest National Progress Report from Surescripts, that’s a 4 percent change in physician use from the previous year.

The total volume of prescriptions routed electronically increased 32 percent to more than 1 billion; up from 788 million in 2012 and 570 million in 2011. According to iHealth Beat, that accounts for 58 percent of all eligible prescriptions.

Another key finding was that 95 percent of pharmacies are now accepting electronic scripts. Further, the adoption of electronic prescribing by independent pharmacies increased 11 percent between 2011 and 2013, while adoption among chain pharmacies remained constant at 98 percent.

As of 2013, just 40 percent of pharmacies have achieved Surescripts certification to enable the electronic prescribing of controlled substances. Although these medications account for 13 percent of the market, they are not electronically prescribed as often as other drugs. This could stem from a federal law that until four years ago prohibited electronic prescriptions for controlled substances; in place to prevent potential misuse.

“Just as we’ve witnessed continued growth in e-prescribing over the past 13 years, so too have we seen the complexity of the healthcare system multiply,” said Paul Uhrig, Acting CEO of Surescripts in a press release. “Today, Surescripts has the assets and the experience that are needed to connect hospitals, pharmacists, providers, payers, pharmacy benefit managers, and others, to enable the secure, electronic exchange of vast amounts of clinical data and make it useful across healthcare.”