Insurer Urges Computerized Prescriptions at Hospitals

The Boston Globe
February 15, 2008

The state's largest medical insurer said yesterday that it will require all the state's hospitals to fully install a computerized medication ordering system within four years or face a lost of lucrative payouts from an incentive program promoting good-quality care.

The announcement by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Massachusetts was released at the public unveiling of a report that found that one of every 10 patients admitted to six Massachusetts community hospitals suffered serious and avoidable medication mistakes, including severe allergic reactions or dangerous drug interactions.

... Researchers said the system's high up-front costs, roughly $2.5 million, would be recouped within two years by eliminating unnecessary medical care resulting from errors, as well as by reducing the use of expensive brand-name and intravenous drugs when cheaper alternatives are available.

... Chris Murphy, spokesman for Blue Cross, said the results of the study, sponsored by th4e Massachusetts Technology Collaborative and the New England Healthcare Institute, demonstrated the urgent need for hospitals to embrace an error-reducing prescription system.  He said Massachusetts hospitals will be barred from participating in the insurers' $104 million incentive program if they do not adopt the computerized system by 2012. 

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