New Poll Shows Rural Seniors Want E-Prescribing in Medicare

(Washington, DC)—As Washington gridlocks on so many issues, promoting electronic prescribing (e-prescribing) in Medicare is emerging as one issue that both Republicans and Democrats can agree on. “The Medicare Electronic Medication and Safety Protection (E-MEDS) Act of 2007,” which will require that Medicare physicians begin to prescribe electronically, will save lives and money and also fits perfectly into any Medicare package being discussed on Capitol Hill, the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association (PCMA) said today.

Public support for e-prescribing in Medicare is strong. A new national poll finds that seniors in rural areas by a 2-1 margin think e-prescribing sounds like a good idea and support requiring rural Medicare providers to use the technology while allowing them additional assistance to adopt the system. Conducted by Ayres, McHenry & Associates, the poll of 600 seniors in mostly rural counties also shows that half of the seniors questioned take four or more prescription medicines on a regular basis. Half of these seniors are very or somewhat concerned that a new drug they are prescribed could lead to a negative reaction with other drugs they take.

E-prescribing improves safety by alerting a doctor when a drug they are about to prescribe might dangerously interact with other medications already being taken by their patient. E-prescribing also eliminates errors resulting from sloppy handwritten prescriptions being misread at the pharmacy counter.

“The E-MEDS Act addresses the single greatest barrier to e-prescribing adoption: lack of urgency in the physician community to modernize the way they prescribe. Unless all physicians face real consequences for continuing business as usual, few will begin e-prescribing and seniors will pay the price,” said PCMA President and CEO Mark Merritt. “PCMA applauds the bipartisan leadership supporting this important health care issue being included in any Medicare package before Congress.”

The Institute of Medicine (IOM) estimates that approximately 1.5 million preventable medication errors harm Americans each year and that some 7,000 people die annually as a result. To remedy this, the IOM admonished all doctors to begin e-prescribing by 2010. Surveys show that less than one in ten doctors currently choose to prescribe electronically and two-thirds don’t view it as a priority.

Bipartisan momentum for the E-MEDS Act is building in the Senate with leadership from:

Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.)
Sen. John Ensign (R-Nev.)
Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.)
Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME)
Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-NM)
Sen. Mel Martinez (R-Fla.)
Sen. John Sununu (R-NH)
Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.)
Sen. Norm Coleman (R-Minn.)
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI)
A companion bill in the House is supported by:

Rep. Allyson Schwartz (D-Penn.)
Rep. Lois Capps (D-Calif)
Rep. John Porter (R-Nev.)
Rep. Phil English (R-Penn.)
Rep. Thomas Allen (D-ME)
Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.)
Rep. Joe Crowley (D-NY)
Rep. Wally Herger (R-Calif.)
Rep. Ellen Tauscher (D-Calif.)

The legislation has also been strongly endorsed by former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich (R-GA).

A broad coalition of consumer, union, business, purchaser groups, and other prescription drug stakeholders is also calling on Congress to ensure that physicians use e-prescribing in Medicare by 2010. Click here to read the letter sent to congressional committee leaders from the coalition.
Coalition E-Prescribing Letter to Congress

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PCMA is the national association representing America’s pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), which administer prescription drug plans for more than 210 million Americans with health coverage provided through Fortune 500 employers, health insurance plans, labor unions, and Medicare Part D.

Contact Information:
Charles Coté 202-207-3605

New Poll Shows Rural Seniors Want E-Prescribing in Medicare

Other Medicare Providers ‘Stuck with the Check’ for Expensive $10 Billion Agenda

PCMA Print Ad

(Washington, DC)— As part of its campaign to highlight the costs associated with the independent drugstore lobby’s agenda, the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association (PCMA) has unveiled a new print advertisement that features a waiter asking: “So, Who Gets Stuck With The Check?”

The ad highlights how “prompt pay” mandates in Medicare and sweeping antitrust exemptions demanded by the independent drugstore lobby could cost Medicare and its beneficiaries nearly $10 billion. In a pay-go world, the independent drugstore lobby’s expensive agenda leaves rural providers, Medicare Advantage plans, Skilled Nursing Facilities, and others to pick up the tab.

According to a new study from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), legislation that would make Medicare prescription drug plans (PDPs) pay drugstores twice as fast as Medicare pays other providers could cost the program and its beneficiaries at least $3.1 billion over the next decade. Costs to the Medicare Part D program and its beneficiaries could increase by $6.4 billion over five years as a result of sweeping antitrust exemptions for independent pharmacists, according to a study earlier this year from CRA International.

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PCMA is the national association representing America’s pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), which administer prescription drug plans for more than 210 million Americans with health coverage provided through Fortune 500 employers, health insurance plans, labor unions, and Medicare Part D.

Contact Information:
Charles Cote’ 202-207-3605

PCMA Print Ad: “Who Gets Stuck with the Check?”

Requirement Necessary to Accelerate Adoption

(Washington, DC)—As a leader in the effort to improve health care through electronic prescribing (e-prescribing), the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association (PCMA) supports the bipartisan legislation introduced by Senate Finance Committee Members John Kerry (D-Mass.), John Ensign (R-Nev.), Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), Senator Mel Martinez (R-Fla.), and endorsed by former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) requiring physicians to use e-prescribing in Medicare. PCMA also supports the House companion bill introduced by Representatives Allyson Schwartz (D-Penn.), Jon Porter (R-Nev.), and Lois Capps (D-Calif.).

“Key policymakers from both parties and Secretary Leavitt agree: The time has come to require physicians to use e-prescribing in Medicare. This could be the greatest patient safety achievement in a generation and it would also save Medicare billions of dollars,” said PCMA President and CEO Mark Merritt.

Introduction of the “Medicare Electronic Medication and Safety Protection (E-MEDS) Act of 2007″ is another positive sign of momentum. Yesterday, the Administration said it wants significant health IT reform in a Medicare bill and that doctors who choose not to e-prescribe or use electronic medical records should not receive payments updates.

Last year, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) recommended that all physicians begin using e-prescribing by 2010 to help reduce the estimated 1.5 million preventable medication errors that occur in the United States annually. Each year, roughly 7,000 people die from medication errors, according to the IOM. However, fewer than one-in-ten physicians currently use e-prescribing technology. Physicians have been slow to adopt e-prescribing not because of clinical concerns, but because they do not view it as a priority.

Earlier this year, PCMA released a study from the Gorman Health Group that found requiring e-prescribing in Medicare could prevent up to 1.9 million medication errors and save the federal government billions over the next decade, even after providing physicians funds for equipment, training, and technical support.

Joining PCMA in the effort to require physicians to use e-prescribing in Medicare is a broad coalition of consumer, union, business, purchaser groups, and other prescription drug stakeholders. In addition, PCMA also has been leading the charge on this important improvement in patient safety with a new TV ad campaign featuring Dr. Lyle Bootman, the co-chair of the IOM committee that recommended that all physicians adopt e-prescribing. In the TV ad, Dr. Bootman calls on Congress to require e-prescribing in Medicare “before more people die.”

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PCMA is the national association representing America’s pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), which administer prescription drug plans for more than 210 million Americans with health coverage provided through Fortune 500 employers, health insurance plans, labor unions, and Medicare Part D.

Contact Information:
Charles Coté 202-207-3605

(Washington, DC)— In response to the Senate Judiciary Committee’s hearing on electronic prescribing (e-prescribing) of controlled substances, the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association (PCMA) issued the following statement:

“PCMA supports efforts to ensure e-prescribing is used for all prescriptions.  E-prescribing enhances patient safety by providing physicians with comprehensive patient medication histories and automatic electronic safety alerts that help to avoid any adverse drug-to-drug interactions. Safe and secure prescribing of controlled substances through e-prescribing technology should be permitted and is another positive sign toward greater use of the technology.

 

“However, the key issue preventing widespread adoption of e-prescribing is a lack of urgency to do so in the physician community.  Although over 80 percent of doctors understand the benefits of e-prescribing, fewer than one-in-ten actually use it.  Requiring that physicians use e-prescribing in Medicare could save billions and prevent up to 1.9 million medication errors over the next decade.  Furthermore, an e-prescribing requirement in Medicare serves as the first step toward broader adoption of overall health IT.”

 

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PCMA is the national association representing America’s pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), which administer prescription drug plans for more than 210 million Americans with health coverage provided through Fortune 500 employers, health insurance plans, labor unions, and Medicare Part D.

(Washington, DC)—As momentum continues to build on the issue of requiring physicians to use electronic prescribing (e-prescribing) in Medicare, the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association (PCMA) today announced a new round of TV advertising featuring J. Lyle Bootman, Ph.D., Sc.D.

Last year, Dr. Bootman co-chaired an Institute of Medicine (IOM) committee that recommended that all physicians begin using e-prescribing by 2010 to help reduce the estimated 1.5 million preventable medication errors that occur in the United States annually. However, fewer than one-in-ten physicians currently use e-prescribing technology.

“Thousand of people die every year because of preventable medication errors–many of them are America’s seniors,” Dr. Bootman states in the TV ad. To address this situation, Dr Bootman calls for requiring e-prescribing in Medicare “before more people die.”

According to the IOM, each year some 7,000 people die from medication errors.

Along with the TV ad, PCMA is also running a print ad with the headline: “While You Wait.” The print advertisement urges Congress to require e-prescribing in Medicare as a solution that will help prevent thousands of deaths annually from medication errors.

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PCMA is the national association representing America’s pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), which administer prescription drug plans for more than 210 million Americans with health coverage provided through Fortune 500 employers, health insurance plans, labor unions, and Medicare Part D.

Contact Information:
Charles Coté 202-207-3605