Consumers:  Benefits of E-Prescribing

1. Convenience:  With the use of an electronic system, prescriptions should arrive at the pharmacy before a patient arrives, eliminating the need for the patient to show up to drop off the prescription and wait for it to be filled.

2. Streamlined prescription renewal process: E-prescribing streamlines communication between physicians and pharmacies to renew prescriptions.  For example, if the prescription has no more refills, the pharmacy will send an electronic renewal request to the doctor’s computer system.  The doctor’s office can respond electronically to approve or deny the request quickly and easily.  The patient is much less likely to have to wait for the pharmacist and physician to speak by phone. 

3. Improved medication safety: By entering prescriptions electronically in a standard format, physicians eliminate many of the opportunities for errors, such as illegible handwriting.  Physicians are also more likely to have access to their patients’ medication history information, which helps them make safer prescribing decisions and prevents prescribing medications that the patient is allergic to.  There is even more benefit when e-prescribing is included in a full electronic health record that allows greater use of decision tools for the health care provider.

4. Better management of medication costs:  E-prescribing systems often can access a patient’s insurance plan information, so that the physician can prescribe the medications that are covered by insurance.  This saves the patient money.

 

The content on this page was derived from “A Consumer's Guide to e-Prescribing: Understanding the Benefits of e-Prescribing, How it Works and What You Can Do” which was developed by the eHealth Initiative in collaboration with the Center for Improving Medication Management with strategic guidance from a multi-stakeholder Steering Group.