Casting for the Cure

Have you ever looked at your handwritten prescription and wondered just what it was you were supposed to be taking? Well, imagine the pharmacists trying to decipher their way through literally thousands of these per year. The Institute of Medicine reports that 1.5 million people in the United States are injured or die each year from preventable medication errors that cost the health care system as much as $3.5 billion.

With the push from the United States government, health insurers, and private business groups encouraging doctors and patients to put more information online, two of the country’s largest electronic-prescription networks—once rivals competing for prescription sales—have merged in a cashless transaction. SureScripts, owned by the National Association of Chain Drug Stores and National Community Pharmacists Association and RxHub, owned by CVS Caremark, Express Scripts and Medco Health Solutions—the leading mail-order companies—have creating a single, secure network for the exchange of digital health information.

The new entity, under the temporary name, SureScripts-RxHub, will be manage jointly by Rick Ratliff, acting chief executive officer of SureScripts, and J.P. Little, acting chief executive officer of RxHub, until new management and a new name can be secured. Through pharmacy benefit managers, the new merger will have access to 200 million patient records and about 70 percent of all drugstores in this country. The merged network expects to transmit 100 million paperless drug orders this year, which would nearly triple the present number of digital prescriptions written in the United States.

John Driscoll, President, New Markets, Medco said “For patients, payers, pharmacists and physicians, e-prescribing will help to reduce prescribing errors and drug interactions and maximize the use of the most effective, lowest-cost therapies—speeding the prescribing and dispensing process, while removing costs from the health care system.” Healthcare providers will also be able to review insurance coverage and a patient’s drug history.

E-prescribing has been held back due to some legal roadblocks and privacy concerns—of the 4 billion prescriptions written in the United States last year only 35 million were filled electronically. More than two-thirds of our countries pharmacies currently use the technology, yet only 6 percent of doctors have embraced the new system—while there is no per-prescription cost to doctors or patients, electronic health software can cost up to $25,000. Basic e-prescribing software is far less but is still expected to generate $5 billion in revenue per year to software and computer companies that provide healthcare services with the necessary equipment. Congress is also moving towards legislation that would offer financial benefits to doctors who use the technology and softening the laws that control e-prescribing for certain painkillers and other controlled substances.

“As we move to this paperless process, we improve efficiency, safety and quality,” said SureScripts chief executive Rick Ratliff,

The American Medical Association questions any action that would require physicians to prescribe electronically, as public health insurance doesn’t meet the cost of basic health care now, let alone premium high-tech services.