Electronic Prescriptions Continue to Climb

According to Surescripts, in 2009 191 million prescriptions were prescribed electronically. The percentage of eligible prescriptions increased from 6% in 2008 to 18% last year. One in four physicians are now e-prescribing. This pickup in volume has allowed Surescripts to lower the cost to pharmacies for prescriptions going through its gateway. This announcement was made earlier in the year. And Harry Totonis, president and CEO of Surescripts, says, "We are not done yet. With this price reduction, we are focused on the opportunity to connect even more physicians, pharmacies, and payers. As we add more participants to the network, this will continue to drive down the cost of e-prescribing. As this occurs, we will again pass those savings along to the industry." Surescripts has recently partnered with Quest Diagnostics to make laboratory test results available to physicians, giving physicians even more incentive to connect to Surescripts.