New Incentives for e-Prescribing Announced by HHS

Medicare to Reimburse Doctors Extra for Electronic Prescriptions

Beginning in January, Medicare will provide incentive payments to physicians who send prescriptions to pharmacies electronically. Benefits of "e-prescribing" include the potential for fewer drug errors and lower administrative costs, according to Health and Human Services officials.

For the first 2 years of the program, physicians who use the technology will receive a 2% increase in Medicare reimbursement rates. The incentive will be 1% during the following 2 years, and 0.5% in 2013.

However, physicians who do not use electronic prescribing by 2012 could see a 1% reduction in Medicare reimbursement rates. That penalty would increase to 2% by 2014, according to the Associated Press.

The AP reports that it costs roughly $3000 per physician to set up the necessary software and equipment.

Health and Human Services press release (Free)

Associated Press story (Free)

Epocrates Rx Now Available for iPhones

Epocrates has announced that their excellent drug reference software is now available for iPhones. Previously, Epocrates could only be used wirelessly, but it is now available as an application for iPhones.

Palm Treo 800w Review

This looks like a solid device for medical practice. It has great memory capacity, good screen size, and can run Windows mobile apps, as well as Palm apps (using Styletap).

iPhone 3G Review

The new iPhone 3G phone is creating quite a "buzz" among gadget folks. I still stand by my recommendation that this is still not the best type of device for doctors. However, new applications that are being developed may change my opinion in the coming year. Also, Styletap is rumored to have an iPhone emulator in the works that would run all Palm applications (they have already done this for Windows devices). Until then, you may want to check out the Treo 800W (reviewed above) if you're in the market for the latest smartphone in your practice.

e-Prescribing Just Got a Little Easier

The merger of SureScripts and RxHub gives one nationwide network for e-prescribing. This should make e-prescribing easier for mobile programs, EMR's and enhance adoption.