E-prescribing is being used by nearly half of physicians nationwide and is up in Texas by 42 percent since 2008, according to HealthIT Buzz, the technology blog directed by ONC.
This could be due in part to the CMS Electronic Health Record incentive program, as it saves $845,000 annually per 100,000 insured patients, or because it is found to be more effective overall.
Due to the uptick in usage, most community pharmacies can accept e-prescriptions, and the number of prescriptions sent electronically has increased ten-fold since 2008.
In December of that year, just 7 percent of physicians nationally were e-prescribing using an EHR; by June 2012, almost 48 percent were e-prescribing.
In Texas, e-prescribing has grown from 6 percent in December 2008 to 48 percent in June 2012. It’s still slightly below the national average.
