AMA Outlines Guidelines For Electronic Prescriptions

Fri. May 9, 2008


The American Medical Association shared for the first time today an outline of what physicians would accept as part of electronic prescribing legislation. The proposal comes amid growing momentum to include an e-prescribing mandate in the Medicare physician pay fix that senators are crafting. Until now, the AMA has been considered the largest barrier to enacting e-prescribing legislation that would link the technology's use to Medicare reimbursement. The AMA has cited concerns over the cost of adopting and implementing the technology. But lawmakers have seen it as increasingly attractive, given that the expected reduction in medical errors could provide them with enough money to meet pay/go requirements.

AMA board member and emergency physician Steven Stack today called on lawmakers to give physicians two years to adopt the technology before Medicare would be required to start docking their payments for paper prescriptions. The leading congressional proposal on the table gives physicians through 2011 to implement e-prescribing in their offices before Medicare would face financial penalties. Stack also said any proposal should include exceptions for small practices and physicians in rural areas as well as emergency situations in which physicians may have to prescribe medications outside their normal offices. Hospitals and other healthcare facilities should be motivated to provide e-prescribing technology for physicians, Stack said.

The AMA also wants Congress to direct the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to release final e-prescribing standards by the end of 2009. CMS issued three standards last month and plans three more. Stack said their completion is critical to establishing interoperability to ensure the technology does not become obsolete. Congress must also remove a barrier in place under the Drug Enforcement Administration's prohibition on e-prescribing controlled substances, Stack said. The AMA estimates that controlled substances account for 20 percent of all prescriptions. AMA has raised concerns about the cost of implementation, and while Stack mentioned those concerns again today, the physicians' group did not back a specific dollar amount that Congress should give physicians to adopt e-prescribing.

by Anna Edney

Fri. May 9, 2008

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