New Medicare Requirement Includes Financial Incentives for Physician Adoption

(Washington, DC)- The new law requiring electronic prescribing (e-prescribing) in Medicare is spurring physician groups across the country to adopt the technology.  The Texas Medical Association (TMA) is the first state medical organization to join a growing roster of national medical groups that are working to ensure all prescriptions are transmitted electronically.

“Increased adoption of e-prescribing is good for doctors and good for patients.  The recent e-prescribing Medicare law provides valuable incentives for those who would like to adopt this technology,” said Pharmaceutical Care Management Association (PCMA) President & CEO Mark Merritt. 

E-prescribing is successfully being used by more than 35,000 doctors nationwide.  PCMA led a diverse group of consumers, employers, unions, and medical professionals that supported passage of an e-prescribing requirement in Medicare. Supporters included among others: AARP, AFL-CIO, Consumers Union, Ford Motor Company, General Motors Corporation, and AT&T.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) estimates that adoption of e-prescribing would reduce adverse drug events (ADEs), provide increased administrative savings to physicians and pharmacists, and enhance generic utilization. Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Mike Leavitt has previously stated that the e-prescribing standards are in place and that “it’s time” to adopt the technology.  

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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)-Mark Merritt, President of the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association, issued the following statement in response to new comparative effectiveness legislation introduced late this week by Senate Finance Committee Chair Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and Senate Budget Committee Chair Kent Conrad (D-N.D.):

“We applaud Senators Baucus and Conrad for helping advance the discussion about how best to improve quality through more objective information and to foster value-based purchasing.  We look forward to reviewing the Baucus-Conrad legislation in greater detail and working collaboratively with them and other stakeholders in this area.

“PBMs have been at the forefront of efforts to bring more measurement, accountability, and real-time information to the health care system.  PCMA believes comparing the clinical effectiveness of competing drug therapies is an important tool in promoting value-based purchasing.  Pharmacy benefit managers have led the way with pharmacy & therapeutics (P&T) committees and a wide range of proven utilization tools-including multi-tier formularies and step therapy-to ensure patients have access to cost-effective and clinically proven prescription drugs.”

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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