E-Prescribing Saves Lives, Improves Quality

(Washington, DC)- The Pharmaceutical Care Management Association (PCMA) released the following statement on a new analysis of federal data by the Institute for Safe Medications that found the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has received a record number of reports of serious drug reactions, including more than 4,800 deaths:

“This new analysis reinforces the Institute of Medicine’s (IoM) recommendation that all physicians begin prescribing electronically by 2010 to help prevent the 1.5 million harmful medication errors that occur annually. Securing full physician adoption of e-prescribing as soon as possible is critical to improve safety and quality in our health care system.

“A new law in Medicare addresses this issue by providing incentives for physicians to use e-prescribing for America’s seniors.” 

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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.