Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008 to Drive Adoption of Electronic Prescribing and Electronic Health Records
CHICAGO, July 16, 2008 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX News Network/ — Allscripts, the leading
provider of clinical software, connectivity and information solutions that
physicians use to improve healthcare, congratulated the leadership of the
United States Congress in passing the Medicare Improvements for Patients and
Providers Act of 2008 (H.R. 6331) last night. The Act, for the first time
ever, provides financial incentives to physicians who adopt electronic
prescribing (ePrescribing), requires adoption by 2011, and delays any
reduction in fees for treating Medicare patients.
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The Act will increase Medicare payments to physicians who regularly
utilize ePrescribing by 2 percent in 2009 and 2010, then slightly less over
the next three years. Physicians who do not use the technology would see their
payments cut by 1 percent in 2011, and a maximum of up to 2 percent for 2013
and beyond.
“With this law, the Federal Government is supporting the use of
life-saving technology that can improve quality and reduce the cost of care,”
said Glen Tullman, Chief Executive Officer of Allscripts. “This is a great
day for patients, for physicians and for all stakeholders in healthcare. We
expect the new Medicare rules to drive continued adoption of electronic
prescribing and, because electronic prescribing is the ‘on-ramp’ to the
electronic healthcare highway, we also expect the law will drive adoption of
electronic health records, which include electronic prescribing as a core
component and will therefore be eligible for the incentive.”
Allscripts is the clear market leader in ePrescribing with more than 40,000 physician clients writing electronic prescriptions every day, transmitting more electronic prescriptions over the Pharmacy Health Information Exchange than any other vendor. Allscripts is the only company to provide a stand-alone ePrescribing solution in addition to including ePrescribing as a component of its Electronic Health Record solution. Allscripts makes it easy and affordable for physicians in solo practice and smaller medical groups to adopt its stand-alone ePrescribing solution as a first step towards eventual adoption of a full Electronic Health Record.
Additionally, Allscripts is the founding member of the National
ePrescribing Patient Safety Initiative(TM) (NEPSI(TM)), a coalition of the
nation’s leading healthcare and technology companies that is dedicated to
eliminating preventable medication errors by providing free e-prescribing
technology to every physician in America. NEPSI is co-led by national sponsor
Dell Inc., a leading global systems and services company. Additional NEPSI
sponsors include Aetna, Cisco Systems, eRx Network, Fujitsu, Google — the
coalition’s Search Sponsor — Horizon BCBS of New Jersey, Microsoft,
NaviMedix, Quest Diagnostics, Sprint Nextel, SureScripts, Wellpoint, and
Wolters Kluwer Health.
“The NEPSI coalition was created to bring electronic prescribing to
physicians at no cost and reduce the risk of medication errors to our nation,”
said Tullman. “And it’s working. Every day, more physicians are adopting the
solution.”
The Allscripts web-based ePrescribing software for NEPSI is available at
no cost to any healthcare provider with legal authority to prescribe
medications, the solution requires no download, no new hardware, and minimal
training. The product can quickly generate secure electronic prescriptions and
deliver them to the patient’s pharmacy of choice.
For more information, visit NEPSI on the web at
http://www.NationaleRx.com.
NOTE: The Pharmacy Health Information Exchange, operated by SureScripts,
facilitates the transfer of electronic prescriptions between US physicians
and the nation’s pharmacies. According to the National Progress Report on
E-Prescribing (http://www.surescripts.com/report), 35 million prescription
transactions were routed electronically in 2007.
About Allscripts
Allscripts (Nasdaq: MDRX) is the leading provider of clinical software,
connectivity and information solutions that physicians use to improve
healthcare. The company’s unique solutions inform, connect and transform
healthcare, delivering improved care at lower cost. More than 40,000
physicians and thousands of other healthcare professionals in clinics,
hospitals and extended care facilities nationwide utilize Allscripts to
automate everyday tasks such as writing prescriptions, documenting patient
care, managing billing and scheduling, and safely discharging patients, as
well as to connect with key information and stakeholders in the healthcare
system. To learn more, visit Allscripts at https://www.allscripts.com.
This announcement may contain forward-looking statements about Allscripts
Healthcare Solutions that involve risks and uncertainties. These statements
are developed by combining currently available information with Allscripts
beliefs and assumptions. Forward-looking statements do not guarantee future
performance. Because Allscripts cannot predict all of the risks and
uncertainties that may affect it, or control the ones it does predict,
Allscripts’ actual results may be materially different from the results
expressed in its forward-looking statements. For a more complete discussion of
the risks, uncertainties and assumptions that may affect Allscripts, see the
Company’s 2007 Annual Report on Form 10-K, available through the Web site
maintained by the Securities and Exchange Commission at http://www.sec.gov.
SOURCE Allscripts