E-prescribing initiative enhances safety

An e-prescribing initiative in southeast Michigan has resulted in a substantial reduction in medication errors, according to the program's sponsors. Funded by the Big 3 automakers to the tune of $1 million, the initiative, which helped nearly 2,500 physicians gain access to the technology, helps avoid dangerous prescriptions by giving the doctors drug-to-drug and allergy alerts.

The physicians download dispensed prescription histories from RxHub, which also sends them alerts about formulary compliance. In 39 percent of the cases when they received those alerts, the physician changed the prescription to a drug that was in the formulary of the patient's plan.