Electronic prescribing offers many benefits

Beginning Jan. 1, it will pay for doctors to electronically prescribe medication for Medicare patients. Physicians who opt for paperless prescriptions will get an extra 2 percent in reimbursement rates from Medicare. Why? There are a number of reasons, the most important of which is patient safety. Electronic prescribing systems make it much easier to detect possible mistakes in dosages or raise concerns about dangerous interactions between the drug being prescribed and one already being taken by a patient. In addition, E-prescriptions greatly reduce the chance that a physician's handwriting will misinterpreted, leading to a mistake in dispensing a drug. http://www.battlecreekenquirer.com/article/20081218/OPINION01/812180309/1014/OPINION