CHICAGO, July 9 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Allscripts, the leading provider
of clinical software, connectivity and information solutions that physicians
use to improve healthcare, and the founding member of the National
ePrescribing Patient Safety Initiative (NEPSI(TM)), today announced its firm
support for the United States Senate’s approval of legislation that provides
financial incentives for physicians to adopt electronic prescribing, or
“e-prescribing,” and requires adoption by 2011. If signed into law by
President Bush, the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of
2008 (H.R. 6331), also would reverse a planned 10.6 percent pay cut to
physicians who treat Medicare patients.
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“Electronic prescribing can prevent many of the needless deaths and
injuries that medication errors cause each year, and with this legislation,
the Senate has taken a significant step toward ensuring that patients are
safer,” said Glen Tullman, Chief Executive Officer of Allscripts and Co-Chair
of NEPSI. “Allscripts and our NEPSI partners are committed to providing
electronic prescribing technology at no cost to every physician. We urge the
President to sign the bill into law and make it easier for more physicians to
adopt this life-saving technology.”
As an incentive for physicians to adopt e-prescribing, H.R. 6331 would
increase Medicare payments to physicians who regularly utilize e-prescribing
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. The
bill allows for some exceptions to the rule.
An estimated 35,000, or fewer than 10 percent, of U.S. physicians use
e-prescribing. The technology cuts the risk of medication errors by
automating the prescribing process and alerting physicians to possibly
dangerous drug interactions or side effects. Electronic prescriptions also
reduce the risk of a misread prescription and save money because physicians
are made aware of cheaper generic drug options when writing prescriptions.
The nonprofit Institute of Medicine, part of the Washington-based National
Academy of Sciences, has urged physicians to move to e-prescribing to reduce
what it says are 1.5 million preventable medication errors each year.
“Electronic prescribing and this legislation are essential steps to
improving the quality of health care and safety of patients,” said James
Coffin, Ph.D., Vice President, Dell Health Care and Life Sciences. “Along
with our NEPSI partners, we’re committed to making this technology accessible
and easy. Dell sees this legislation as an important first step in the
broader adoption of technology across the U.S. health care system, which will
ultimately result in better quality care and a more efficient system.”
NEPSI is 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 led by Allscripts and national sponsor Dell Inc. (Nasdaq: DELL), a leading
global systems and services company.
Other NEPSI sponsors are Aetna, Cisco Systems, 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 Allscripts web-based e-prescribing software is
designed to appeal to physicians in solo practice or small groups. Available
through NEPSI 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.
According to the National Progress Report on ePrescribing
(http://www.surescripts.com/report), 35 million prescription transactions were
routed electronically in 2007. A new study by the Department of Health and
Human Services estimates that if just 18 percent of physicians in Medicare
adopt e-prescribing, the government will save $4 billion and nearly three
million adverse drug events can be prevented over five years.
About NEPSI
The National ePrescribing Patient Safety Initiative (NEPSI) is a coalition
of the nation’s most prominent technology companies and leading healthcare
organizations dedicated to improving patient safety by providing free access
to simple, safe and secure electronic prescribing for every physician in
America. NEPSI includes national sponsors Allscripts and Dell; executive
sponsors Cisco, Fujitsu, Microsoft, NaviMedix, Quest Diagnostics, Sprint
Nextel and Wolters Kluwer Health; healthcare sponsors Aetna, Horizon BCBS of
New Jersey and WellPoint; connectivity sponsor SureScripts; and search sponsor
Google. The NEPSI offering also is supported by a growing number of academic
medical centers, integrated delivery networks and physician groups across the
U.S. who are leading the rollout of the NEPSI electronic prescribing solution
within their states and regions. For more information, visit NEPSI on the web
at http://www.NationaleRx.com.
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
-0- 07/09/2008
/CONTACT: Allscripts|NEPSI, Dan Michelson, Chief Marketing Officer,
+1-312-506-1217, dan.michelson@allscripts.com, or Todd Stein, Senior
Manager|Public Relations, +1-312-506-1216, todd.stein@allscripts.com, both of
Allscripts/
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/Web site: https://www.allscripts.com /
(MDRX DELL)
CO: Allscripts; National ePrescribing Patient Safety Initiative
ST: Illinois
IN: HEA MTC BIO CPR STW
SU: LEG POL
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