Electronic Prescribing System May Encourage Physicians To Choose Lower-cost Drugs.

ScienceDaily (Dec. 17, 2008) — Clinicians using an electronic prescribing system appear more likely to prescribe lower-cost medications, reducing drug spending, according to a new report. “Patients who received care from a geriatrician tend to have better prescribing and they tend not to receive drugs that are inappropriate for older patients,” said Mary Jo Pugh, Ph.D., the study’s lead author. That is because geriatricians are trained to “take a much closer look at the medications than the average physician does, and their assessment is focused on how medications may affect patients differently as they age.”Comment: The newer electronic systems take into account both the appropriateness of the drug and the reimbursement requirements of the different payment plans. [Medical Care 46(2), 2008]