This is actually quite a bit down the road, the year 2011 before any pinch is felt, which allows plenty of time for physicians to learn the process. The one big hitch in all of this is the failure of the DEA to get with the program. Most physicians that have already made the switch are very happy and satisfied, once the learning curve is over, it is a very efficient way to handle prescriptions. 
As the process goes not, with a physician who is using e-Prescribing, he has to stop everything, put the computer aside, and drag out “paper”, yes, I said paper. With today’s methodologies and audit trails inherent in every system, I have to ask, why does the DEA still want paper? Is there internal system ready to handle the processes? Audit trails and controls can pretty much efficiently handle most needs today, not only that, but it would provide them with a full audit trail to search.
Right now most physician practices get what are called “fax bots” from the pharmacies, in other words, the pharmacy connecting to the physician’s office to verify refills, and if you have not been in “paper” doctors office to see this in action, they just keep the machine rolling all day long. With e-Prescribing, this can be controlled and get rid of burning those paper files all day long on the fax machine, plus save a few trees. Not only that, but someone has to fetch the faxes, call the pharmacies, etc. when it can all be done with a data process, leaving staff and physicians more time to see patients face to face.
Last but not least, let’s address the handwriting…not much more needs to be said here as this goes on every day with pharmacies not being able to read the handwriting on the “paper”. How long do we want to bypass the white elephant in the living room? With e-Prescribing, alerts are also generated when a potential conflict arises.
In today’s busy world, these can certainly be on huge help and have the potential to cut down prescribing errors. Think of the physician who gets a late night call and has nothing to view about the patients’s medications, do we trust this to memory when there are systems in place to help avoid complications? Unfortunately there’s still a lot of this in existence today, and the computer can do a much faster analysis than what the human brain can do in the same amount of time. It’s time to start using the tools we have available today.
Now for the 10% looming Medicare cut looming to take place today, that is another issue all together and has nothing to do with e-Prescribing and needs to be stopped so patients will still be able to find a physician to see them. Patients are the big loser here and their compensation needs to be maintained at a level where they will still continue to practice as many are finding it difficult to make ends meet. Everything else in the practice budget is going up, so why are we trying to cut the funds that help the doors to the practice open. BD
Congress is already bracing for an epic health-reform debate after a new president takes office. But lawmakers–and lobbyists–still have a big piece of unfinished health business for this year: paying doctors.
On July 1, doctors face a 10.6% cut in their fees from the federal Medicare program, a reduction legislators temporarily postponed last year. To avoid the dropoff, Congress is expected to pass a bill to restore the money, as it has repeatedly done in the past. And, true to form, the negotiations look like they’ll go down to the wire.
The hitch: Democrats and Republicans haven’t managed to agree on some key questions, in particular how to pay for making the doctors whole. The Bush Administration has already threatened to veto a bill that goes after Medicare Advantage plans, the private insurers’ versions of the elderly-insurance program.
Health Blog : Medicare Payments to Doctors May Hinge on Electronic Prescribing
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