Washington, D.C. – In an effort to save lives and help to eliminate adverse medical reactions due to preventable prescription errors, Reps. Schwartz (D-Penn.), Porter (R-Nev.), and Capps (D-CA) introduced a House bill encouraging the use of e-prescribing. E-prescribing involves prescriptions being sent electronically from the prescribing healthcare provider to the pharmacy, as opposed to paper scripts. The goal of the bill, E-MEDS Act of 2007, is to eliminate the medical errors, injuries, hospitalizations, and 7,000 deaths annually that can result from illegible prescriptions and bad drug interactions.

A companion bill was introduced in the Senate by Senators Kerry (D-Mass.), Ensign (R-Nev.), Stabenow (D-Mich.) and Martinez (R-FL).

The bipartisan, bicameral bill encourages physicians to use e-prescribing in Medicare by providing a one-time payment bonus to physicians for the initial cost of purchasing e-prescribing technology. The bill also provides an extra 1% percent bonus for the administrative costs attached to every Medicare prescription a doctor writes electronically. In order to ensure widespread adoption of e-prescribing, the bill also establishes financial penalties for Medicare physicians who do not begin using e-prescribing by 2011.

“E-prescribing is a common sense, much needed solution to help eliminate preventable prescription errors and make medicine in America the safest it can be,” said Rep. Schwartz. “Congress has a responsibility to be forward-thinking, as well as practical, in how we encourage greater use of technology in healthcare and this bill is a key step forward in the right direction.”

“E-prescribing is a necessary and constructive step to move our healthcare system into the 21st century,” added Rep. Porter. “With the adoption of e-prescribing technology, many lives will be saved, fewer errors will occur and the quality of patients’ care will drastically improve.”

“I am proud to join my colleagues, Allyson Schwartz and Jon Porter, in introducing legislation that will facilitate widespread adoption of e-prescribing,” said Rep. Capps. “As a nurse, I am especially committed to enacting policies that will reduce paperwork and, more importantly, medical errors. By providing sensible incentives for physicians to adopt e-prescribing, we can bring a patient's journey from the doctor's office to the pharmacist into the 21st century and guarantee better safety.”

“E-prescribing will save money, save time, save doctors from piles of paperwork, and most importantly, save lives,” said Sen. Kerry. “Deaths and injuries from hand-written prescriptions could be nearly eliminated if e-prescriptions were adopted on a wide scale. We need to seize this bi-partisan opportunity and make this common sense reform a reality now.”

The bill has widespread support from patient advocates, the medical community, consumer, labor and business groups.

Organizations and businesses that support e-prescribing include:

AARP, Consumers Union, Families USA, National Consumers League, National Partnership for Women & Families, SEIU, AFL-CIO, United Auto Workers, America’s Health Insurance Plans, HR Policy Association, The ERISA Industry Committee, Aetna, The Corporate Health Care Coalition (CHCC), The National Coordinating Committee for Multiemployer Pension Plans, Kentucky Teachers’ Retirement System, The Public Sector HealthCare Roundtable, Pacific Business Group on Health, Pharmaceutical Care Management Association, National Association of Chain Drug Stores, Walgreens, RxHub, The Coalition for a Competitive Pharmaceutical Market, Apotex, and the Generic Pharmaceutical Association.

Bill provisions: 

1. Provide permanent Medicare funding for one-time grants to physicians to help offset the start-up costs to physicians of acquiring and implementing e-prescribing technology.

2. Provide permanent Medicare funding for payment bonuses to physicians for use of e-prescribing.  For every Medicare prescription that is written electronically, physicians will be paid an extra 1% bonus.

3. Starting on Jan 1, 2011, physicians will be required to write their Medicare outpatient prescriptions electronically.  Physicians that continue to write prescriptions by hand will face a per-claim financial penalty.

4. The Secretary of HHS will be given authority to grant one- or two-year hardship waivers for physicians who face particular difficulties in acquiring and implementing e-prescribing – especially those from rural areas or very small (or solo) practices

5. GAO and CMS will be directed to report within two years on the status of e-prescribing adoption within Medicare

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