Pharmacy

The electronic prescribing rate in upstate New York increased from 12 percent in 2009 to 17 percent in the first quarter of 2010, representing 3.6 million new and renewed prescriptions on an annual basis, according to a new report. The report suggests that this number will grow significantly as the result of the technology becoming more affordable, due in part to the government's incentives for health IT adoption.

A recent study finds that remote online visits with dermatologists achieved equivalent clinical outcomes for acne patients. Also, doctors and patients ranked the e-visits as convenient and time-saving and said they could be used as a model for chronic conditions such as diabetes and hypertension.

Capital BlueCross, of Harrisburg, Pa. has announced a three-year renewal agreement with McLean, Va-based Prematics, Inc. for their electronic prescribing service. More than 1,000 practitioners who provide care for a million patients across central Pennsylvania and the Lehigh Valley use the service.

Kevin Hutchinson serves on the federal Health Information Technology Standards Panel, advising President Barack Obama's national coordinator for health IT, Dr. David Blumenthal, on the development and use of health information interoperability standards.

The people behind Paperfree Tampa Bay foresee the $18 million initiative as President Barack Obama’s vision made good. They have set their sights for the 10-county, 8,000-physician e-prescribing pilot launched Monday on no less than 100 percent adoption. They’ll achieve it, they say, by going to physicians door-to-door and providing the help they need to get on board.