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26,000 Pharmacies Nationwide To Launch "Learn
About E-Prescriptions" Campaign,
Touting Technology That Saves Consumers Time
and Improves Prescription Safety
In 2007, patients in the U.S. left their
doctors office with at least one prescription
on 550 million separate occasions. Millions
then made two trips to the pharmacy following
their doctor's visit, one to drop off the
prescription and another to pick it up. Now
with a new technology called
"e-prescriptions," a patient can choose to
have their prescription electronically
transmitted to the pharmacy before they ever
leave their doctor's office.
The process is known as "e-prescribing" and
it creates a paperless, more efficient and
more convenient approach to obtaining
medications. Already in place at more than
40,000 pharmacies nationwide, e-prescriptions
are carried from the physician's computer to
the pharmacist's computer by a private,
secure network operated by SureScripts
(founded by the nation's independent and
chain pharmacies in 2001). In addition to
cutting patient wait time at the pharmacy,
e-prescriptions also improve patient safety
by reducing potentially harmful drug
interactions and by eliminating the need for
pharmacists to interpret illegible
handwriting.
Currently 70 percent of the nation's
pharmacies accept e-prescriptions, but only 6
percent of physicians use e-prescriptions. In
an effort to close that gap, 26,000
pharmacies, both independent and major chains
like Acme Supermarket, Cub Pharmacy,
CVS/pharmacy, Duane Reade, Giant Food
Pharmacy, Kerr Drug, Longs Drugs, Osco Drug,
Rite Aid, Sav-On Pharmacy, Stop & Shop,
Walgreens and Wal-Mart, have joined to launch
"Learn About E-Prescriptions," a nationwide
campaign designed to educate patients and
physicians on the benefits of electronic
prescribing. The campaign is expected to
reach 10 million patients this week alone.
For more information, go to:
www.LearnAboutEprescriptions.com.
Produced for SureScripts
Tags : prescriptions doctors pharmacy patients e-prescribing SureScripts |
