The paper prescription you get from the doctor is about to be a thing of the past. New York State law is changing medication practices for most times doctors prescribe a drug.
Having prescriptions handled electronically might seem like it should be convenient and easy to implement – especially in the age of electronic medical records. But the state-mandated system is throwing up some obstacles. Medical Society of the State of New York President Joseph Maldonado is a urologist…he and others have to create separate authentication every place they practice.
“Physicians need to be able to do that for their own offices, as well as any ancillary offices. So if a physician sees patients in a nursing home, that institution has to convey that electronic prescription t the local pharmacy.”
Hospitals can work with hundreds of doctors – all of whom have to have separate verification. Doctor Jef Sneideris an internist, who explains for narcotics it’s a two-step process.
“For instance, if I have an electronic medical record, I sign on with my own password. In order to do a narcotic prescription, I now need a second identifier to prove that I’m me, so no anybody can pick up my computer and use my password and prescribe a narcotic.”
He’s gone through the approval process three times for three locations.
There are benefits …such as taking human error out of what are sometimes pretty scribbly written scripts
“When I do a prescription I don’t just write what I want in an illegible scrawl, and let the pharmacy fill it out, there’s a dropdown menu. It has all the medication there and the proper doses. So it’s more accurate in terms of prescribing, so there are a lot of benefits to it also, and I think it was going to happen just like electronic banking.”
Another benefit, controlling drugs that get abused, was already largely tackled by the I-stop tracking system, implemented last year. Onondaga County Medical Society past President Doctor Denis Nave says fraud is down.
“It helps you to track who the abusers are and see if in fact people are getting it from multiple sources. And also you can’t forge a prescription any more. There was a time I can remember when people would even print doctor’s prescriptions themselves and write their own prescriptions.”
Some doctors have been electronically prescribing for years…others and larger institutions are having some troubles. All prescriptions are supposed to be electronic by March 27th
PATIENT CHALLENGES AHEAD WITH ELECTRONIC RX
The coming change in mandatory electronic prescriptions is going to have some impacts on patients. One the new law takes effect, access and costs could be concerns for patients.
The truth is…many doctors and other health providers are already sending most prescriptions electronically to pharmacies. And Onondaga County Medical Society Past President Doctor Dennis Nave does not expect much confusion.
“I think the majority of patients at least for the past few years are accustomed to just having the prescription electronically sent. I remember when we did switch, patents at the end of their visit were always waiting for those written prescriptions.”
But that will largely be a thing of the past. Later this month all scripts are supposed to be electronic. Syracuse area internist Doctor Jef Sneider envisions some inconvenience
“If your doctor hands you your prescription, you can take it to any pharmacy you want. But if you come to my office and I send a prescription electronically, I can only send it to one place. If that pharmacy is closed when you get there, or if you chose the wrong pharmacy, that’s the only place your prescription went to.”
It also makes it harder to shop around for prices or lower co-pays. There will be some exceptions. Medical Society of the State of New York President Doctor Joseph Maldonado sees a few reasons to get around the law.
“For all those snowbirds who go down to Florida, or individuals who see a doctor in the state of New York, but live or get their medication in adjacent states, they will be able to opt out of the electronic (prescriptions) by just telling their doctors that they will be filling their prescriptions out of state.”
If people do have problems with convenience, or end up paying higher prices, Maldonado understands.
“So patients shouldn’t take out their frustrations on their providers, but should address those concerns with their local legislators who might be able to tweak this law to make it more patient and provider friendly.”
Meanwhile Dr. Sneider puts some responsibility on the medical profession to ease any problems.
“I hope the doctors will do a good job of educating the patients. The patient needs to know their pharmacy. If there are two Rite Aids on Salina Street, you need to know which one is yours so you can get your prescription sent to the right pharmacy.”
He adds people with ongoing medications might get a copy of the prescription to shop around before refilling them. The electronic prescription law was supposed to go into effect a year ago…now the deadline is March 27th.
