What is Electronic Prescribing?

Electronic prescribing, also known as E-prescribing, e-scripts, and e-Rx, has taken the world by storm over the past few years.

As the name suggests, E-prescribing is the use of a computer, or mobile software application, to generate, transmit, and fill a medical prescription.

Patients don’t need to understand the finer details of E-prescribing, however, there are a few things to keep in mind:

• It’s more efficient: Go back in time 15+ years, and prescribing medication was a long process filled with plenty of paper and fax machines. Today, with the help of E-prescribing, medical professionals no longer have to fill out a paper prescription and transmit it to a pharmacy via fax. It’s all done electronically, which saves both time and money.

• Enhanced accuracy: When it comes to medication, there’s no room for mistakes. Even a minor mix-up can have serious medical consequences. With E-prescribing, it’s much easier to send accurate, error-free prescriptions to the pharmacy. This is in contrast to hand-written prescriptions that are generally difficult to decipher, which increases the risk of a mistake.

• Helps connect healthcare providers: When combined with the use of electronic medical records, E-prescribing makes it easier for a patient’s entire medical team, regardless of location, to have access to records, thus allowing for more accurate and knowledgeable decisions.

• It’s safer: Electronic Prescribing of Controlled Substances (EPCS), including opioids, is now permitted nationally in all US states, including Washington, D.C.

E-prescribing continues to grow by leaps and bounds.

For example, the United States processed billions of transactions in 2018, an increase from the previous year. Over 70 percent of U.S. physicians have transmitted at least one prescription electronically. Up from virtually zero physicians in 2007, according to the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC).

If you’re interested in learning more about E-prescribing – either as a healthcare provider or patient – now’s the time to do so. With growth at an all-time high, you can expect to have more contact with E-prescribing and related technology in the near future than ever before.