eRx Collaborative announces record 2007 numbers

BOSTON The eRx Collaborative announced that during 2007, nearly 5 million electronic prescriptions were transmitted through the collaborative. The program transmitted 8.4 percent more electronic prescriptions than over the same period in 2006.

This brings the four-year, industry-leading total of electronic prescriptions transmitted through Collaborative prescribers to 13.5 million. In addition, the eRx Collaborative deployed more than 471 new prescribers during 2007, surpassing this year’s annual goal of 385.

A recent survey by the participants of the program showed that 81 percent of prescribers would recommend ePrescribing to a colleague, up from 75 percent in 2006. The percentage of prescribers that say ePrescribing results in fewer calls from pharmacies rose to 66 from 55 in 2006. Seventy-one percent of respondents say ePrescribing saves time, with the majority saving one hour to two hours per day due to ePrescribing technology.

“This technology continues to impress, both as a means of promoting safe prescribing and as a pathway toward full implementation of an electronic medical record. I hope that patients also recognize that they are receiving a higher standard of care when their physician utilizes ePrescribing on a routine basis,” said James Glauber, medical director of Neighborhood Health Plan, a member of the eRx Collaborative.