888-765-5400BCBSNC and Electronic Prescribing
BCBSNC Doubles The Number Of Providers Using Electronic Prescribing
More Than 87 Percent Of North Carolina Pharmacies Use Eprescribe
Chapel Hill – More North Carolinians will benefit from increased prescription accuracy and safety because of the growing popularity of ePrescribe, a statewide electronic prescribing initiative of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina.
The latest ePrescribe results show the number of doctors using electronic prescriptions in the last quarter has now doubled to more than 2,000. In addition, more than 87 percent of North Carolina pharmacies now use electronic prescribing to meet customers’ prescriptions needs.
“Our results show steady growth and adoption of electronic prescribing for both North Carolina physicians and pharmacies,” said Dr. Ron Smith, BCBSNC vice president of Employer Health and Corporate Pharmacy. “This is good news for patients. ePrescribe puts patients’ medical and drug histories at physicians’ fingertips, so they can see at-a-glance any possible drug interactions. They also can see the patient’s health plan formulary and can discuss the cost implications of various drug choices while their patient is in the office.”
As patients take a more active role in managing their health care costs, understanding drug treatment options is becoming increasingly important. Electronic prescribing allows physicians and patients to explore and discuss medication choices and costs at the point of care, before the prescription is written. It also prompts consideration of generic drugs where appropriate, which can save consumers between $15 to $30 per prescription compared to the brand name equivalent.
BCBSNC is the first insurer in North Carolina to actively support the use of electronic prescribing. Since BCBSNC launched the pilot ePrescribe program in 2006, more than 7.8 million electronic prescriptions have been written.
BCBSNC began the ePrescribe program through a partnership with Community Care of North Carolina (CCNC) and North Carolina Medicaid to improve prescription accuracy and increase patient safety. BCBSNC will continue to promote electronic prescribing for all North Carolina providers and will continue to work with CCNC to encourage electronic prescribing.
In addition, BCBSNC is making an electronic prescribing solution available on the BCBSNC web site to help every licensed provider in its network start electronic prescribing. The web site requires no downloading and no new hardware. The BCBSNC web portal is safe, secure and accessible from any web-enabled computer, handheld device or cell phone.
The content of this article is provided by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina BCBSA News on March 23, 2009.
For more information on health insurance coverage in North Carolina, please visit our website at www.nchealthplans.com or call our toll free number 888-765-5400 and speak with one of our qualified agents. Our agency provides coverage for health insurance in North Carolina through Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina (BCBSNC). You may qualify for a 15% healthy lifestyle discount if you are in excellent health. Call us for details.