Report: Ohio docs lag behind on e-prescribing

A survey by the nation’s largest prescription network found that Ohio doctors are not embracing e-prescribing at the nearly the same rate as other states (Source: “Ohio doctors slow to sign on to system that allows electronic authorization of prescriptions,” Cleveland Plain Dealer, July 21, 2009).

In 2008, Ohio doctors electronically routed just 4.67 percent of prescriptions, according to Surescripts’ National Progress Report on E-Prescribing (pdf, 22 pages). Massachusetts tops the list for the second consecutive year with 20 percent, or more than four times Ohio's rate.

The number of prescriptions routed electronically nationwide grew from 29 million in 2007 to 68 million in 2008, and the number of e-prescribers jumped 12 percent.