Study shows e-prescribing rising in popularity

NEW YORK Patients might soon visit their doctors and find something missing: a prescription slip.

Electronic prescribing, also known as e-prescribing, is becoming increasingly prevalent, according to an article published in the New England Journal of Medicine Thursday.

“The prescription pad, as familiar a medical emblem as the stethoscope or the white coat, is on its way to becoming a historical curiosity,” article author Robert Steinbrook wrote.

E-prescribing has already become widespread in Europe, but accounts for 2 percent of prescriptions in the U.S.