New Hampshire Pushes for E-prescribing

Gov John Lynch (D, NH) and CitizensHealth Initiative recently announced agoal for all physicians in the state to useelectronic prescribing (e-prescribing) by2008. The Citizens Health Initiativeincludes physicians, pharmacists, insurers,and representatives from hospitals.

Currently, 80% of the pharmacies inthe state have the technology for eprescribing,and physicians would nothave to invest in a specific technologyto participate, according to Phil Boulter,a member of the initiative. The group isalso working with health insuranceproviders to develop common pay-forperformancestandards, including incentivesfor physicians to adopt thetechnology.

Gov Lynch explained that e-prescribing"will improve health care qualityand help save lives, while at the sametime reducing health care costs andimproving the efficiency of our healthcare system." Physicians are not concernedabout the cost; the issue iswhether the system will be compatiblewith everyone using it, and that it willremain compatible in the future, notedPalmer Jones, executive director of theNew Hampshire Medical Society.