Top 10 ePrescribing States Announced, Minnesota Tops

Surescripts, the Arlington, Va.-based provider of the U.S.’ largest network for ePrescribing, announced the 10 states with highest rate of electronic prescribing (ePrescribing) use in 2011. Minnesota captured the top ranking in what is Surescripts seventh annual “Safe-Rx Awards.” Rankings determined by an analysis of data from Surescripts that measures ePrescribing use by physicians, pharmacies, and payers in each state.

“In Minnesota, there has been a strong commitment to a common e-prescribing objective by providers, pharmacies and payers statewide who worked collaboratively with the e-Health Initiative,” Dr. Marty LaVenture, director of the office of health information technology and e-health at the Minnesota Department of Health, said in a statement.  “We have benefited from the strategic use of assessment data that helped us identify and respond to the gaps and needs associated with e-prescribing.  Policy initiatives and grant and loan programs also helped increase adoption and use for providers and pharmacies in underserved areas of the state.”

The growth of adoption and use of ePrescribing amounted to the greatest number of changes in the rankings over its seven-year history. Minnesota wasn’t even ranked in the top 10 last year. Overall, Surescripts’ data indicates that state and federal initiatives to increase the adoption and use of ePrescribing by healthcare providers as a means to improve quality, efficiency and help lower costs have bolstered the growth of ePrescribing.

Top 10 States With Highest Rates of ePrescribing.

1.     Minnesota*

2.     Massachusetts

3.     South Dakota

4.     Delaware

5.     New Hampshire*

6.     Iowa

7.     North Carolina

8.     Maine

9.     Vermont*

10.  Michigan

*New to the top 10

Other highlights from the report included the fact prescribers in Minnesota routed 61 percent of prescriptions electronically. Also, Massachusetts and New Hampshire have the highest rate of physician adoption at 86 percent. Meanwhile, North Dakota made the largest gains year over year, boosting its ranking from 47 to 18.