title: E-Prescribing collaboration in Massachusetts: early experiences from regional prescribing projects.
abstract: Massachusetts payers and providers have encouraged clinician usage of e-Prescribing technology to improve patient safety, enhance office practice efficiencies, and reduce medical costs. This report describes three early pilot e-Prescribing projects as case studies. These projects identified the e-Prescribing needs of clinicians, illustrated key issues that made implementation difficult, and clarified the impact of various types of functionality. The authors identified ten key barriers: (1) previous negative technology experiences, (2) initial and long-term cost, (3) lost productivity, (4) competing priorities, (5) change management issues, (6) interoperability limitations, (7) information technology (IT) requirements, (8) standards limitations, (9) waiting for an "all-in-one solution," and (10) confusion about competing product offerings including hospital/Integrated Delivery System (IDN)-sponsored projects. In Massachusetts, regional projects have helped to address these barriers, and e-Prescribing activities are accelerating rapidly within the state.
authors.affiliation: CareGroup Healthcare System and Harvard Medical School, 1135 Tremont Street, 6th Floor, Boston, MA 02215, USA. jhalamka@caregroup.harvard.edu
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Halamka
authors.forename: Meg
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Aranow
authors.forename: Carl
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ascenzo
authors.forename: David W
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Bates
authors.forename: Kate
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Berry
authors.forename: Greg
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Debor
authors.forename: Jessica
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Fefferman
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Glaser
authors.forename: Jerilyn
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Heinold
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Stanley
authors.forename: Diane L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Stone
authors.forename: Thomas E
authors.initials: TE
authors.lastname: Sullivan
authors.forename: Micky
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tripathi
authors.forename: Bruce
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Wilkinson
mesh_terms: D011307:Drug Prescriptions / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006284:Health Plan Implementation; D006801:Humans; D008404:Massachusetts; D050316:Medical Order Entry Systems / Q000191:economics / Q000458:organization & administration; D016347:Medical Records Systems, Computerized; D010865:Pilot Projects; D012041:Regional Medical Programs; D012955:Societies, Medical; D012984:Software; D013221:State Health Plans; D014481:United States