ALEXANDRIA, VA – Electronic prescribing has seen significant growth in adoption and use of critical components, according to the annual National Progress Report on E-Prescribing.

The report, released by Alexandria, Va.-based Surescripts, documents the status of e-prescribing adoption and use in the United States from 2006 through 2008.

According to the report, more than 100,000 prescribers are now routing prescriptions electronically, and the use of three critical components of e-prescribing – electronic prescription benefit, history and routing – jumped 61 percent in the first quarter of 2009. This jump resulted in more than 134 million e-prescribing messages being exchanged among prescribers, payers and pharmacies.

The report credits three factors for influencing e-prescribing growth in 2008:

1. the attention e-prescribing received at the federal and state policy level;
2. national programs that drove e-prescribing and offered practical tools to assist the industry in moving;
3. and the adoption of e-prescribing by key groups – namely, payers  (including PBMs and Medicaid plans), prescribers and pharmacies.

"In the past two years, the U.S. has gone from 19,000 to 103,000 prescribers routing prescriptions electronically – punctuated by 39 percent sequential growth in prescriber adoption in the first quarter of this year," said Harry Totonis, president and CEO of Surescripts. "The past two years have also witnessed a sevenfold increase in the use of e-prescribing. And while this growth shows clear evidence that the steps taken by policymakers, prescribers, payers, pharmacies and others are having a positive impact, swift and specific action is required for the U.S. to achieve mainstream adoption and use of e-prescribing."

Surescripts recommends that five actions be taken to continue the growth of e-prescribing use and adoption and  further secure reductions in cost as well as improvements in safety and efficiency:

1. Continue to work with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration to pass regulations that allow controlled substances to be electronically prescribed in a way that is workable and scalable.
2. Work to ensure that "meaningful use" under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 requires the actual use of  e-prescribing.
3. Fill gaps in e-prescribing participation among payers, state Medicaid programs and independent pharmacies.
4. Raise awareness across the industry and encourage deployment and use of e-prescribing – encompassing prescription benefit, prescription history and prescription routing.
5. Provide education, financial incentives and implementation assistance for all prescribers, with a particular focus on addressing the needs of small and medium-sized practices.