Drug Topics- August 11, 2008

20 DRUG TOPICS AUGUST 11, 2008 www.drugtopics.com Latebreakers… In Depth Merger, Medicare reform could mean broader e-prescribing adoption Martin Sipkoff E lectronic prescribing took two big the merged model, charged through the steps forward in July, most notably hundreds of technology companies that the merger of e-prescribing nethave developed the clinical e-prescribing works RxHub and SureScripts. and electronic medical record software The merger combines the eligibility used by pharmacists and physicians. But data of the 200 million people that are SureScripts-RxHub officials said that, managed by the three biggest pharmabecause the merger creates a unified procy benefit management (PBM) compacess for testing and certifying software nies—CVS Caremark, Express Scripts, Rick Ratliff (top) connections to a single information netand J.P. Little assert and Medco Health Solutions—with the that the SureScripts work, costs could drop. SureScripts data that are related to elec- and RxHub merger Streamlining that process, including tronic prescription routing from physi- will be good for the initial application costs, will save time industry. cians to pharmacies. and money for the vendors and may make The transaction should significantly transaction fees passed to pharmacists accelerate e-prescribing adoption, which more competitive, Little said. Several of could lower pharmacists’ transaction fees, the large chain drugstores have their own according to Rick Ratliff, former acting proprietary software, but independent CEO of SureScripts, which is owned by pharmacists choose which software to the National Association of Chain Drug purchase. Stores (NACDS) and the National ComStudies have shown that e-prescribing munity Pharmacists Association (NCPA). saves pharmacists time on calls to physiHe is jointly managing the new organizacians and improves workflow efficiency. tion with J.P. Little, the former CEO of “Pilots gave good indication that returnRxHub, which is owned by the three PBMs. on-investment is there,” Little said. Each organization now owns half of the new 80“We’ve been dating for a long time,” Ratliff employee entity, temporarily named SureScripts- added. “There’s been lots of conversation, it’s been RxHub. Its six-member board includes a director an on-again, off-again relationship. Now we have a from each PBM owner, the NACDS, NCPA, and marriage. The resulting large volumes will lead to someone chosen by the two pharmacist organizations. decreased transactions fees.” Pharmacists react to merger “So they have a monopoly now,” Julie Schrantz, R.Ph., director of pharmacy services at Clinton Memorial Hospital in Saint Johns, Mich., said. “No one seems to realize we pay the cost of these transactions. This is happening on the backs of pharmacists.” The merged health information network functions as what organizers call a “cost-recovery model,” based on the 21.5-cent transaction fee charged to software vendors for each new prescription and renewal. Those charges, at varying rates, are passed on to pharmacists, who also pay fees to PBMs and health plans for formulary inquiries. “This is what concerns us,” Schrantz said. “Physicians seem to have no idea that we pay for all this.” Pharmacist costs will continue as before under Other initiatives The other big event in July was Congressional passage of Medicare reform, which contained carrots and sticks for physicians to implement e-prescribing. Physician resistance is viewed as the reason adoption has been slow since RxHub and SureScripts were founded in 2001. Of the four billion prescriptions written annually, only 25 million were electronically transmitted last year—mainly because only about 10% of physicians use the technology. The legislation offers Medicare bonuses to doctors who adopt e-prescribing and eventual financial penalties to those who don’t. Doctors who use e-prescribing for Medicare patients will receive a 2% bonus in 2009 and 2010, a 1% bonus the following two years, and a 0.5% bonus in 2013. Those http://www.drugtopics.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Drug Topics- August 11, 2008

Drug Topics- August 11, 2008 Contents Latebreakers Letters DEA Proposes Rule To Allow Electronic Prescriptions for Controlled Substances Merger, Medicare Reform Could Mean Broader E-Prescribing Adoption New Combination Pill Approved for Type 2 Diabetes New Eczema Guildlines Promote Use of Emollients, Then Topical Corticosteroids Agencies Flush Original Strategies in Favor of Promoting Drug Take-Back Programs JP at Large: You Laughing at Me? Pharmacists Find Themselves at Mercy of Prior Authorization State Law Requiring PBM Transparency See Some Gains, Some Losses Global Counterfeiting Still Growing, Says U.S. Commerce Official FDA Saftey Page: Prophylthiouracil Still Confused with Purinethol (mercaptopurine) New Products Bring Lice Treatment to a Head NACDS Marketplace Showcases New Product that Fill Unmet Needs Update on Respiratory Tract Infections Execs Share War Stories About Adopting Technology in their Stores New Products Advertisters Index Classified Viewpoint: Medicare Part D Revisions sorely needed

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.