Is electronic prescribing safe?

As of 2013, over 50% of all healthcare providers now generate their prescriptions electronically. In the past, doctors would write the prescription on a 3 ½ x 5 piece of prescription paper. Writing the prescriptions by hand created many issues that included not being able to read the doctors handwriting and in some cases patients altering the strength or number of pills in the prescription. With today’s technology, doctors can electronically generate a prescription and send the prescription electronically to the pharmacy of the patient’s choice. It is estimated that over 80% of all pharmacies in the country can accept electronic prescriptions. In the event the pharmacy is not set up to accept electronic prescriptions, the prescription that was sent electronically would be forward via fax to the pharmacy.
The biggest benefit associated with electronic prescriptions is time savings. When you doctor writes a prescription electronically, the software checks to ensure that the new prescription will not have any side effects or conflict with any of the other prescriptions you are currently taking. In addition, prescription renewals can be electronically approved by your doctor from the pharmacy. Electronic prescriptions are accurate and eliminate the legibility issue associated with hand written prescriptions.
The federal government is encouraging doctors to send prescriptions electronically as another way to reduce the cost of healthcare. If your doctor is not currently sending your prescriptions electronically, then recommend they contact ViewMyHealthRecords.com and will advise them of their options in sending prescriptions electronically.