By COLLEEN CREAMER
For VerusMed
Electronic prescribing programs significantly increased providers’ generic dispensing ratio (GDR), mail dispensing rate (MDR), and preferred/formulary compliance ratio (PFCR), a retrospective study suggested.
Researchers looked at an integrated database of administrative pharmacy claims and provider data. They selected an intervention group comprised of 275 prescribers who actively used e-prescribing for at least one month from Jan 1, 2006, to Dec. 31, 2006, then matched the intervention group with a control group (n=267) of providers who had never used e-prescribing.
The two populations were matched for time period of analysis, prescription volume, geographic location, age, gender, plan design as well as baseline values for GDR, MDR and PFCR.
Data analysis involved estimating the impact of e-prescribing on study outcomes overall and by selected therapeutic classes: selective serotonin-reuptake inhibitors (SSRI), proton pump inhibitors, coenzyme A reductase inhibitors (HMG) and angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors.
The number of prescription claims in the intervention group increased from a mean of 2,370 prior to the e-prescribing program to a mean of 3,573 following the intervention.
Results of the study revealed that e-prescribing had a statistically significant adjusted positive impact on GDR and PFCR. Further, the impact on MDR was positive but not statistically significant.
Specifically, e-prescribing led to 850 basis-point increases in GDR, 60 basis-point increases in MDR and 430 basis-point increases in PFCR as well as a significant impact on provider-level GDR for SSRIs, HMGs and ACE inhibitors and on PFCR for SSRIs.
Additionally, e-prescribing was associated with a significant cost savings of $7.82 per prescription and a total program savings of $780,477. (Roman B, et al. PRR 26.)
