Now all physicians can access guidance on everything from selecting a system to calculating incentive earnings.
By Pamela Lewis Dolan, AMNews staff.
The American Medical Association has unveiled its enhanced online e-prescribing learning center and opened it up to all physicians.
The learning center, first launched April 1, offers a one-stop shop for physicians seeking information on e-prescribing and advice on how to get started.
The site recently was enhanced to offer additional features, including a system-finder tool that selects three systems for a user based on responses to a brief questionnaire and a calculator to help physicians determine how much they can earn in Medicare e-prescribing incentives (www.ama-assn.org/go/eprescribing).
A recent online survey by the AMA found that e-prescribing use in physician practices has grown to 30% from 13% last year. One reason is that in January, Medicare started providing incentives to doctors who e-prescribe. Those incentives will turn to penalties in 2012. The AMA survey also found that 43% of physicians find the incentive program confusing.
“Health information technology continues to be a hot issue in health care, and electronic prescribing can be a physician’s first step into health IT,” said Joseph M. Heyman, MD, immediate past chair of the AMA Board of Trustees. “Incorporating an e-prescribing system into your practice can help reduce medication errors and drug interactions and also help prepare the practice for future technologies like electronic health records.” Read More Electronic Prescription