Washington, D.C. – Today, the Senate passed the Medicare Improvement for Patients and Providers Act of 2008 (H.R. 6331). In a groundbreaking step forward for health technology, Schwartz was able to include as part of the bill her legislation, the E-MEDS Act of 2007. This key initiative requires doctors who receive Medicare to move towards electronic prescribing, or e-prescribing. E-prescribing is the online submission of prescriptions from your healthcare provider to your pharmacy. Approximately 97 percent of doctors accept Medicare, thus ensuring that America will move toward near universal use of e-prescribing thru this policy.

Ways and Means Committee member, Congresswoman Allyson Schwartz released the following statement after the Senate vote.

“This bill does much more than resolve the major issue of ensuring fair and adequate payment to our doctors, this bill also moves America’s healthcare system forward in leaps and bounds by moving toward universal e-prescribing.

“Successful health reform requires beginning with effective, widely available technologies, such as e-prescribing. 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.” 

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