surescripts news from FierceHealthcare

In the past, prescribing electronically was confusing to many doctors. Today, however, e-prescribing sounds like a reasonable idea, and its benefits--largely improving prescription accuracy and... Read more...

While state governments are doing what they can to promote all kinds of health IT initiatives, none are more popular than e-prescribing. And when it comes to e-prescribing, it seems no state has gotten more of a jump on the matter than Massachusetts, which just won an e-prescribing leadership award handed out by some national community pharmacy groups. The Safe-Rx award, which is given out by the National Association of Chain Drug Stores, the National Community Pharmacists Association and …

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All U.S. physicians should have free online access to electronic prescribing technology before the end of the month, courtesy of a new initiative from various tech firms, health insurers, and major physician groups. The $100 million National E-Prescribing Patient Safety Initiative (NEPSI) launched Tuesday with a Washington press conference attended by former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and former Medicare chief Dr. Mark McClellan, as well as what one speaker called a "who's who of …

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> Siemens bought the diagnostics unit of Bayer in a deal worth €4.2 billion ($5.3 billion). The deal makes Siemens Healthcare one of the biggest players in the emerging immunodiagnostics field. Article

> Canada's plan to allow pharmacists to write prescriptions is triggering fierce debate. Some …

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> Chutes & Ladders: The CEO of Boston's Catholic healthcare system is leaving, after reports this week that he harassed a number of employees. Article

> The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report writes that starting in 2007, Medicare Part D plans will no longer be able to co-brand with outside organizations. The news …

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> Hospitals in Pennsylvania, including the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center network, are providing more uncompensated care than last year, a local industry trade group reports. Article

> Blue Cross of Massachusetts will double the amount it spends on pay for performance programs--with spending rising to $189 million in the state. …

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SureScripts, the ePrescribing network owned by the large pharmacy chains, announced that it will be providing medication history and patient formulary and eligibility information later in the year. SureScripts will use technology from Initiate software, a vendor of enterprise master patient index software, which will integrate information from the various pharmacies on the network. SureScripts is important for ePrescribing's advance as it gives a network for application vendors to "plug …

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> Senate Finance Committee Chairman Charles Grassley (R-IA) and ranking member Max Baucus (D-MT) asked the HHS Inspector General and the GAO to conduct an investigation on physician-owned specialty hospitals. Release (.pdf)

> The MD Anderson Cancer Center will treat former Texas Gov. Anne Richards. Richards has been diagnosed with cancer of the esophagus. …

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> Are HSAs like hybrid cars: environmentally sensitive and forward-thinking? Rep. Bill Thomas (R-CA) thinks so. Blog

> Are HSAs the mother of all tax breaks for the wealthy, or the future of self insurance? Another review. Article

> University …

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More encouraging news about ePrescribing this morning as the Henry Ford Health System (and its subsidiary Health Alliance Plan) is trumpeting its successful implementation of a system backed by PBM giant Medco and the big auto makers. As expected, ePrescribing reduces medical errors and increases the use of generics (and hence lowers drug costs for payers). That's why ePrescribing is …

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