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Mass. tops in electronic prescribing, Rx network says

E-mail|Link|Comments (1) Posted by Elizabeth Cooney June 22, 2009 10:24 AM

Massachusetts once again leads the nation in e-prescribing, according to rankings released today by the nation's largest prescription network.

In Massachusetts, 1 in 5 prescriptions were routed electronically from doctors to pharmacies in 2008, Surescripts said in a report on prescriptions sent over its network. In Massachusetts, that represents 6.7 million orders transmitted electronically.

Since the rankings began for 2006, Massachusetts has been in first place and Rhode Island has been second, with an e-prescribing level of 17 percent for 2008. Vermont was the most improved state, moving from 31st to 14th when its percentage climbed from under 1 percent to 4.7 percent.

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts won the Safe-Rx Evangelist award 2008 for its efforts to promote e-prescribing. The insurer offers incentives to physicians who use e-prescribing and founded the eRx Collaborative with other health plans to expand the adoption of e-prescribing. Previous winners were Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt and the Institute of Medicine.

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1 comments so far...

Fyi

Posted by Brian from Kimberly July 2, 09 12:03 PM

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Elizabeth Cooney is a former health reporter for the Worcester Telegram & Gazette, where she also was a business reporter and an editor. Earlier in her career, she edited medical books and journals at Little, Brown, and worked for Boston magazine.