The Office of the National Coordinator Health Information Technology is out with a new data brief on changes in rates of physician e-prescribing, pharmacy capability to accept e-prescriptions, and the volume of e-prescriptions between December, 2008 and April, 2014.
Nationwide, there has been a rapid increase:
- All states showed double-digit increases in the proportion of physicians e- prescribing using an EHR between December 2008 and April 2014.
- As of April 2014, 7 out of 10 physicians e-prescribe through an EHR, representing a ten- fold increase since December 2008.
- In 2013, more than half (57 percent) of new and renewal prescriptions were sent electronically.
- The volume of new and renewal prescriptions sent electronically has increased thirteen- fold from 2008 through 2013.
Notably, however, “the four states with highest volume of prescriptions — California, Texas, New York, and Florida — are all below the national average” in new and renewed e-prescriptions.
