(Washington, DC)—With a survey of group practices finding physicians face cultural and infrastructural barriers to adoption of electronic-prescribing technology â?? including uncertainty over state regulation in some markets â?? the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association (PCMA) today reiterated its call for a national, uniform electronic prescribing (e-prescribing) standard as critical to accelerating system-wide adoption of this life-saving and cost-effective tool. The report, “Physician Experiences Using Commercial E-Prescribing Systems,” was conducted by researchers at the Center for Studying Health System Change and posted on the Health Affairs website today.

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

“While e-prescribing technology is ready here and now, physicians have lagged behind in adopting it. A national, uniform standard is critical to helping increase physician adoption of e-prescribing technology,” said PCMA President Mark Merritt. “PCMA believes strongly that a collaborative effort among consumers, clinicians, payors, and policymakers is required to take full advantage of the opportunities available with e-prescribing technology.”

The survey finds that physicians are “positive” about basic e-prescribing features, but that three primary factors are contributing to lagging adoption, including product limitations; external implementation challenges; and physician preferences. The survey also finds that group practices in some markets cite uncertainty over state regulation as a “major impediment” to electronic transmission of prescriptions:

The survey finds that “multiple practices in Arkansas, New York, and Michigan perceived confusion among stakeholders over what types of electronic transmissions were allowed under state regulations, with practices in the same state having conflicting perceptions” of e-prescribing law.
The survey also found that similarly, “in one New Jersey practice, physicians were concerned about whether electronic prescriptions were legal on printed prescriptions in the state. To avoid having pharmacies reject them, these physicians hand-signed all printed prescriptionsââ?¬Â¦”
PCMA and its member companies have long advocated a national, uniform e-prescribing standard as a key tool to improving quality, promoting safety, and reducing costs. In the commercial marketplace, PBMs have pioneered the most sophisticated e-prescribing infrastructure and other health-information management tools to help employers, health insurers, and others to improve outcomes, promote safety, and reduce costs. Numerous data have shown that e-prescribing technology can save tens of billions of dollars in unnecessary drug spend. E-prescribing can also help increase adherence to prescription-drug therapies and more easily provide consumers information about safer and more cost-effective options, such as generic drugs and the mail-service pharmacy option.

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PCMA is the national association representing America’s pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), which lower the cost of prescription drugs for more than 200 million Americans with coverage provided through Fortune 500 employers, health insurers, labor unions, and Medicare Part D

Contact Information:
Phil Blando, 202-207-3614
Charles Coté 202-207-3605