Medicare Compliance & Reimbursement

CMS spends millions of dollars on 'testing teams.'

A new pilot program will evaluate e-prescribing software and methodology, helping to catalyze the transition to a universal electronic health records system.

The program will measure the impact that e-prescribing data transmission systems have on workflow, cost improvement, patient safety and quality of care, including potential reductions in adverse drug events and appropriate medication use.

The Department of Health and Human Services announced the new e-prescribing pilot project Jan. 17. Several electronic data transmission standards will undergo testing to determine how efficiently and effectively they can send information such as Medicare Part D prescriptions, medication instructions, medical history data and formulary information between providers and pharmacies.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services supported the movement toward a universal EHR system by requiring the Medicare prescription drug plan to cover e-prescribing technology in a November 2005 ruling. "With Medicare's new drug coverage program, we are providing help with drug costs as well as new support for a more effective electronic health care system," says CMS Administrator Mark McClellan. "We expect that electronic prescribing will help improve quality, prevent medication errors and reduce costs."

CMS and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality will jointly manage the pilot program, which will take place during 2006. CMS recently awarded $6 million in funding to four grantee teams that will test the initial standards. The testing teams, which consist of various health plans, e-prescribing coalitions, vendors and routing companies, hospitals, nursing facilities, and pharmacies, will also evaluate electronic prescriptions' effects on drug use, clinical outcomes, patient satisfaction, ambulatory drug safety and workflow.

"We want to be sure that e-prescribing works as intended and that health care personnel are prepared to use it effectively," says AHRQ director Carolyn Clancy. "This project will help ensure that we achieve positive results as we implement health information technology."

"The new e-prescribing pilot project represents a major step forward in our work to develop and adopt standards for electronic medical and personal health records," maintains HHS secretary Mike Leavitt. "This pilot will help to create a new age in efficiency and safety in America's medical care industry."

To view the grantee team participants, go to www.hhs.gov/news/press/2006pres/20060117a.html.