At University Hospitals in Cleveland, doctors send prescriptions directly to pharmacies with PDA's rather than write them on pieces of paper. Michael Nochomovitz, head of Medical Practices at UH, says e-prescriptions reduce redundancy and increase accuracy as well as provide convenience. At UH, doctors reduced their phone calls to pharmacies by 76% with e-prescriptions.
Michael Nochomovitz: It is a safety factor, in that is checks for drug to drug interaction, allergies, for patients convince it checks insurance eligibly and also the patient doesn't have to deliver a prescription to a pharmacy or mail it in to a pharmacy benefit manager.
Nochomovitz says UH is one of five healthcare providers the federal government is consulting on how e-prescriptions should be standardized. However, he notes e-prescriptions will not be compatible with pharmacies outside U.S. borders. Lisa Ann Pinkerton, 90.3.