Two Sides of E-Prescriptions      

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In 2006 Medicare made it mandatory for all pharmacies accepting Medicare as payment for prescriptions become ready for E-Prescriptions.  Two years later, currently in 2008, Medicare is offering doctors who use E-Prescriptions when prescribing prescription medications, a bonus for five years, beginning in 2009.

Because there have been so many errors when it comes to writing and reading prescriptions, and too many of these errors have been fatal, Medicare is doing all it can to get physicians and their offices on board with writing E-Prescriptions, including offering the financial incentive. 

This creates extra money for the doctors, less problems for the pharmacies and more safety for the patients.  That is one side of the situation.

The other side of the situation is that in order for the doctors to be able to write E-Prescriptions, it will involve them buying software and other programs, which will involve them spending extra money.

Though the doctors will be receiving a 2% bonus during the first two years, it is estimated that the cost of the system alone – up front and in advance of bringing in any money – is anywhere from $2,000 to $4,000, which is a good sized investment in an already thinly-stretched medical practice whose Medicare reimbursements usually do not even cover the costs of services to the patients these doctors serve who are using Medicare as payment. 

We are not talking about huge, upscale, overpriced practices here.  We are talking about practices where doctors, nurses, physician’s assistants and others work hard and try to stretch every Medicare dollar in an effort to continue serving as many patients on Medicare as possible.  To a practice such as this, even $1,000 can be a tremendous amount of money.  Even though the doctors will receive the bonus, it may take time for them to recoup the money.

If there is a way for the doctors to sign on to the E-Prescription system and overcome the barrier of the initial cost, it will be a win-win situation for all, especially their patients.  It may take some time for everything to fall into place, however, if even half of the doctors who take Medicare as payment work with E-Prescriptions, many patients lives will be safer because of it.

Entry Filed under: General-Medicare