Sierra Health Services and Allscripts in December 2005 began a partnership to provide every licensed physician in Nevada with electronic prescribing access in an effort to reduce medical errors in the state, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reports.
Under the program, physicians who are members of the Nevada State Medical Association, can receive Allscripts' e-prescribing software at no cost for two years, while nonmember physicians can receive the software at no cost but must pay a $20 monthly fee to use it. All physicians must pay for their own hardware, including computers and monitors, the Review-Journal reports.
At least 200 of the 250 physicians associated with Southwest Medical Associates - a subsidiary of Sierra Health Services - are using e-prescribing software, according to Dr. Craig Morrow, an internal medicine physician at Southwest Medical. However, only 50 physicians outside Southwest Medical have joined the program, the Review-Journal reports.
Dr. John Ellerton, a Las Vegas oncologist, is taking part in the e-prescribing program, but he said computer reliability and costs are barriers to technology adoption. "[A]lthough the Allscripts product was free, I spent a lot of money upgrading several computers - and I'm fairly computer savvy," Ellerton said. "But the average physician will need assistance," he added.
Morrow said despite limited interest in e-prescribing outside Southwest Medical, he expects most physicians in Nevada to adopt the technology in the next five years. "This is so much safer and convenient for both physician and the patient," Morrow said (Wells, Las Vegas Review-Journal, 5/30).