Federal incentive payments have aided nationwide growth in the use of electronic prescriptions, according to a report from e-prescribing network operator Surescripts, Healthcare IT News reports.

The report — titled “The National Progress Report on E-Prescribing and Interoperable Healthcare” — tracked the status of e-prescribing from 2008 to 2010 (Merrill, Healthcare IT News, 5/12).

Key Findings

The number of new e-prescriptions and replies to pharmacies’ electronic renewal requests increased from 191 million in 2009 to more than 326 million in 2010 — a 72% growth rate — the report found.

The report noted that:

• About 36% of office-based physicians were sending their prescriptions to the pharmacy electronically by the end of 2010, compared with 26% the prior year;
• About 190,000 physicians were e-prescribing at the end of 2010;
• About one in four prescriptions were electronic by the end of 2010;
• The number of prescription histories electronically delivered to prescribers increased to 230 million in 2010 from 81 million in 2009 (Lowes, Medscape, 5/11); and
• E-prescribing rates are highest among cardiologists — at 49% — and family practitioners — at 47% (Healthcare IT News, 5/12).

Explaining the Growth

Surescripts said two federal incentive programs helped push the growth in e-prescribing:

• The 2009 Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act, which gave physicians a 2% Medicare bonus in 2010 for e-prescribing with approved software; and
• The 2009 economic stimulus package, which includes Medicare and Medicaid incentive payments for health care providers who demonstrate meaningful use of certified electronic health records. E-prescribing is one of the meaningful use requirements (Medscape, 5/11).

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The “Health Topics” study consisted of 3,000 adults being interviewed between August 9 and September 13, 2010. Following are eight topics that the study used that give us a good idea as to specific health-related searches people are performing online:

– 29% look online for information about food safety or recalls.
– 24% look online for information about drug safety or recalls.
– 19% look online for information about pregnancy and childbirth.
– 17% look online for information about memory loss, dementia, or Alzheimer’s.
– 16% look online for information about medical test results.
– 14% look online for information about how to manage chronic pain.
– 12% look online for information about long-term care for an elderly or disabled person.
– 7% look online for information about end-of-life decisions.

The report also showed that Internet users are searching health symptoms and treatments. Below are six topics the report found Internet users to be searching:

– 66% look online for information about a specific disease or medical problem.
– 56% look online for information about a certain medical treatment or procedure.
– 44% look online for information about doctors or other health professionals.
– 36% look online for information about hospitals or other medical facilities.
– 33% look online for information related to health insurance, including private insurance, Medicare, or Medicaid.
– 22% look online for information about environmental health hazards.

After reading over this report, it is vital that we at CalCPA ProtectPlus, continue to provide our policyholders and other visitors to our website with the information they are looking for – whether that be information regarding a ProtectPlus plan they are enrolled in, the latest information about healthcare reform or a recipe for diabetics. We continue to make it our goal to be a trusted source that people can look to for answers.

Click here to read the full report which includes details such as the data collected in past years on this same topic, demographic groups and use of mobile devices to search health information.

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You can access these new tools by logging onto the Anthem Blue Cross website directly (www.anthem.com) or you can click through from the ProtectPlus site (www.cpaprotectplus.com). If you take the latter route, choose “Plan Members” then go to “My Plans” and click on “ProtectPlus (Anthem Blue Cross).” Please note that Anthem recently completed a major re-design of its website and you will be instructed to register, or re-register if you had an account on the earlier website, before accessing your account information. Once on your Anthem personal Account Summary page you will find several icons that you can click and drag onto your personal menu to customize your page.

Click on the “Facility Cost and Quality” icon to open the Anthem Care Comparison page. Once there click on “find a facility for a procedure or condition.” A drop-down list provides categories of treatment (e.g. cancer, lungs, orthopedic, or pediatric conditions). When you have chosen a category you can then choose from another list of procedures and diagnoses. You then put in your city or zip and the distance you are willing to travel.

The site will return a list of facilities that provide the procedure in question, typical minimum costs, typical maximum costs, and the average number of times this particular service was provided by the facility in a year. You may be shocked to discover that the average fee at some facilities is several times higher than the average fee charged by others. You may also find that one facility performs the procedure on a regular basis and another conducts it rarely.

To illustrate how significantly the negotiated fee can impact out-of-pocket costs, we searched facilities that perform standard colonoscopy screenings within a 20 mile radius. The results were surprising. For the 16 facilities within the search area, the typical maximum cost ranged from $996 to $4,982 for the same procedure. If the medical plan pays 70% of the negotiated rate, the member’s out-of-pocket costs at 30% could be as little as $299, or as much as $1,495.

If you want still more information, the Facility Cost and Quality tool can also display a customized graphic comparison much like those featured in Consumer Reports with rankings on various scales for factors such as complications, average length of stay, hospital safety, and patient satisfaction ratings.

Another useful tool that you can add to your personal menu is the “Treatment Cost Advisor.” This tool graphically illustrates the cost difference between in-network and out-of-network service providers for specific services.

If you are one of those who tends to say, “wake me when it’s over,” these tools may not be for you. But for those who want to take an active role in their care, the ability to compare medical costs and outcomes represents a major advance.

OVERVIEW

Americans’ pursuit of health takes place within a widening network of both online and offline sources. Whereas someone may have in the past called a health professional, their Mom, or a good friend, they now are also reading blogs, listening to podcasts, updating their social network profile, and posting comments. And many people, once they find health information online, talk with someone about it offline.

This Pew Internet/California HealthCare Foundation survey finds that technology is not an end, but a means to accelerate the pace of discovery, widen social networks, and sharpen the questions someone might ask when they do get to talk to a health professional. Technology can help to enable the human connection in health care and the internet is turning up the information network’s volume.

ABOUT THE SURVEY

The findings in this report come from a national phone survey done by the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project in partnership with the California HealthCare Foundation. Some 2,253 adults, age 18 and older, were interviewed in December 2008 about the social impact of the internet on health care. The interviews were conducted in English or Spanish and included 502 cell-phone interviews.

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