Health Care Stakeholders Release “How-To” Guide to Help Clinicians Switch from Paper to E-Prescribing Systems
Challenges, Opportunities Await Providers Investing in New Technology
BOSTON, MA – (October 7, 2008) – The eHealth Initiative (eHI), in collaboration with the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American College of Physicians, the Medical Group Management Association, and the Center for Improving Medication Management, issued the first comprehensive, multi-stakeholder-informed “how-to” guide to help clinicians make informed decisions about how and when to transition from paper to electronic prescribing systems.
“A Clinician’s Guide to Electronic Prescribing” was released in conjunction with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services National Conference on e-Prescribing in Boston. During a special welcoming reception entitled “Celebrating Leadership” held in conjunction with the conference and co-hosted by eHI and CVS Caremark, in collaboration with AARP, the American Medical Association, the National Association of Chain Drug Stores, the BlueCross Blue Shield Association, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, National Association of Chain Drug Stores, National Community Pharmacists Association, and Surescripts-RxHub, leaders from across every sector of health care came together to share insights, hear remarks from CMS Administrator Kerry Weems, CVS Caremark Vice President Jeffrey Smith, and eHI Chief Executive Janet Marchibroda, and hear about the just-released report.
The report is being issued in anticipation of the new e-prescribing incentives which will take effect on January 1, 2009, as a result of the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008.
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eHealth Initiative Survey Links Health IT to Lower Costs and Improved Outcomes
Growing number of providers also report a positive financial return on investment
WASHINGTON DC (September 11, 2008) The exchange of health information electronically between physicians, hospitals, health plans, and patients is decreasing the cost of care and improving outcomes, according to a new survey released by the non-profit eHealth Initiative today. The 2008 Fifth Annual Survey of Health Information Exchange at the State and Local Levels, which included responses from 130 community-based initiatives in 48 states, shows the significant impact fully operational initiatives are having on improving health care delivery and efficiency.
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Webcast Highlights the eHealth Initiative Survey Results
Click here for a webcast highlight the eHI Survey Results held at a luncheon briefing hosted by the Capitol Hill Steering Committee on Telehealth and Healthcare Informatics, conducted by the Institute for eHealth Policy with support from the HIMSS Foundation. Webcast includes comments from Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), National Coordinator Robert Kolodner, eHI CEO Janet Marchibroda, eHI Foundation President and Executive Director of NY eHealth Collaborative Rachel Block and a panel made up Paul Cotton of AARP; Bill Fandrich of CIGNA, William Hazel, MD of the AMA Board of Trustees, and Liesa Jenkins of Carespark.
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Joseph H. Kanter Family Foundation and eHealth Initiative Foundation Launch Partnership to Conduct Research on Health Outcomes, Comparative Effectiveness
Multi-stakeholder effort will pilot a unique, distributed, electronic research network to help patients and their doctors determine which treatments work best for specific diseases and conditions
WASHINGTON (August 11, 2008) – The Joseph H. Kanter Family Foundation and the eHealth Initiative Foundation (eHI) announced the launch of the Partnership for Connecting for Research on Outcomes and Effectiveness, a national effort that will create a model for using electronic health information from multiple data sources—including electronic health records--while protecting patient privacy, to offer unbiased, evidence-based guidance on what treatments work best—vital information that can improve quality and safety and drive down costs in the health care system.
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eHealth Initiative and The Center for Improving Medication Management Release National Roadmap and Practical Guides for Rapid Expansion of Electronic Prescribing
Multi-stakeholder Group Touts Benefits from E-Prescribing and Makes Recommendations on How to Accelerate its Adoption and Effective Use
WASHINGTON – JUNE 11, 2008 – A new report indicates more than 35 million prescription transactions were sent electronically in 2007, a 170 percent increase over the previous year. The report, “Electronic Prescribing: Becoming Mainstream Practice,” offers a detailed examination of the progress made, obstacles that remain, and recommendations for helping the nation’s prescribers migrate from paper-based prescriptions to an electronic system.
The report, developed collaboratively by the eHealth Initiative (eHI) and The Center for Improving Medication Management (The Center) with guidance and leadership from a diverse Steering Group of health care stakeholders, summarizes the national experience with e-prescribing over the past four years – from its pilot phase in several states such as California, Massachusetts, Michigan and Rhode Island, to its present day use in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. It outlines additional steps that should be taken to realize optimal results in health care improvement. The report includes corresponding guides that offer practical information for health care payers to support effective adoption, and for consumers to better understand e-prescribing’s benefits and use. A third guide for prescribers is under development now, in collaboration with leading medical societies.
Guide for Payers | Consumer Guide | One-Page Consumer Pamphlet
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eHealth Initiative's Drug Safety Collaboration to Partner
With FDA on Sentinel Initiative
eHI’s multi-stakeholder "Connecting Communities for Drug Safety Collaboration" conducting drug safety pilots to test and evaluate use of electronic health information to support post-market monitoring efforts
WASHINGTON – MAY 22, 2008 –The non-profit Connecting Communities for Drug Safety Collaboration (the Collaboration), which will help inform the Sentinel Initiative, is a public-private sector effort conducted in partnership with the FDA. The purpose of the project is to test and evaluate the feasibility and value of using electronic health information--through a distributed model--to support post-market surveillance and drug safety.
"We are delighted to be partnering with eHI on this important project," said Janet Woodcock, MD, Director, Director, Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, Food and Drug Administration. "The results of the pilots will help us evaluate methods and technical approaches for using electronic data to support post-market surveillance and assess the legal and institutional policy issues involved".
The Collaboration just completed in April 2008 its first iteration of testing and evaluation of using a combination of clinical data from electronic health records and other clinical systems and administrative claims data to detect and evaluate drug safety signals for a set of three "use cases."
