(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