E-Prescriptions: Still Room For Improvement Says Nexus Insurance Services

Despite advances in technology within the medical field, information delivered electronically still has its challenges. A 2008 study of electronic prescriptions discovered that there was a 11.7% medication error rate of all the prescriptions. The study was published in the Journal of American Medical Information Association and conducted by a team headed by Karen Nanji, M.D. of Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.

The researchers reviewed 3850 computer-generated prescriptions provided to them by CVS Pharmacies located in Florida, Massachusetts, and Arizona. Of the 11.7% that were found to have errors, 163 (35%) were deemed to be potentially harmful.

One of the main reasons health care providers have adopted computerized prescribing is to reduce errors, but the study shows that e-prescribing is not necessarily better than hand-written prescriptions.

Other benefits of e-prescriptions include preventing problematic drug interaction, the ability to check patients’ insurance to make sure the medicine being prescribed is covered, and offering generic alternatives to medications in order to lower costs.

“Although e-prescriptions are more clear than those written by hand, this study has proven that there is still a great deal of room for improvement in regards to electronic transmission of information from doctor to pharmacist,” says Michael Kataf of Nexus Insurance Services. “Either the systems need to be reprogrammed so that they are easier to use or those using the systems should have better training.”

In July 2006, the Institute of Medicine recommended that physicians should electronically write all prescriptions by 2010. Then in September 2007, e-prescribing became legal in all 50 states when Alaska changed its laws to allow it.

“Hopefully lawmakers will rewrite the standards on how e-prescriptions are processed,” said Kataf. “What is more important, though, is that the medical community be made aware of this issue and be more careful when using the technology until a better system is put in place. As a medical malpractice insurance broker, we help doctors, physicians, or physician assistants who are subjected to a lawsuit because a prescription was entered incorrectly.”

About Nexus Insurance Services

Nexus Insurance Services is a professional insurance broker that has helped many doctors, lawyers, realtors, and business owners gain access to insurance providers for their practice or business. The company's mission is to be a firm that brings real value to clients, builds personal relationships on top of business ones, and always conducts itself with sincerity, integrity and fairness. Because of the relationships with many providers, the company is able to shop a client's application around to get the best rates. Contact Nexus Insurance for a free, no obligation quote for medical malpractice insurance, professional liability insurance, or workers compensation insurance. For more information, visit: http://www.nexus-insurance.net

Contact:
Michael Kataf
Nexus Insurance Services
15 Edelweiss
Rancho Santa Margarita, CA 92688
Phone: 800-459-3353
Fax: 888-600-6280
Email: info@nexus-insurance.com

This release was published on openPR.