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Jan. 14 - Experts Say e-Prescribing Will Be First and Hottest HIT Issue in 2008

Experts for and against electronic e-prescribing all feel it will bubble up as one of the hottest and most debated health information technology issues in 2008.

According to Deborah Peel, MD, founder of Patient Privacy Rights, when it comes to healthcare IT, Congress is likely to address e-prescribing first because it may seem a simple and somewhat easy place to start.

Peel has major concerns, however, with the routine sale of e-prescribing data, a current practice that does not require a patient's consent. "No privacy group will support e-prescribing unless patients have control," Peel said. "It would be insane."

In December, Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass. ) introduced a bill that would require physicians who treat Medicare patients to use electronic prescribing, starting Jan. 1, 2011. So far this bill has drawn wide-spread bi-partisan support but remains buried in committees for consideration.

Meanwhile, the market and many proponents are biting at the bit for some action.

"Americans are ready for e-prescribing," said former speaker of the House, Newt Gingrich, the founder of the Center for Health Transformation. "With Americans using ATM cards everyday in this country and abroad, we believe they are prepared for the massive benefits provided by an electronic prescriptions system."

Many groups say the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) rules prohibiting the electronic prescribing of controlled substances is the blocker to progress. Because of these rules, physicians are forced to use both paper and electronic methods to prescribe, keeping many from using electronic methods at all.

Anne C. Canfield, representing the e-Prescribing Controlled Substances Coalition called the DEA rules "a very, very serious impediment to the adoption of e-prescribing." Canfield, a government relations consultant based in Washington said the Coalition and others are looking to federal sources of relief to overturn or alter the DEA rules.

If Congress fails to act, the Coalition is actively seeking other avenues, Canfield said. Last week, the Coalition met with the White House on the issue.

Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt urged Congress to include an e-prescribing requirement in its fiscal year 2008 budget bill in December, but his efforts failed.

The Senate has shown a significant amount of interest in removing the DEA barrier, Canfield said. In December, 19 senators sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General Michel Mukasey urging him to confirm the security of the DEA's IT transmission platforms. They hope this will help to quell DEA's concerns on liability issues.

Glen Tullman, co-chairman of the National ePrescribing Patient Safety Initiative said his group supports required e-prescribing for Medicare. "Focus on any piece of this is helpful," Tullman said. "We think of e-prescribing as the on-ramp to the electronic healthcare highway. When doctors use e-prescribing they are eventually going to adopt electronic health records."

Source: HIMSS

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