SUMMARY

The acceptance and use of technology by physicians will continue to have dramatic benefits for both patient care and our overall healthcare system.

This widespread use by physicians of the most basic digital technologies provides a pathway for the future use of more clinically involved applications such as such as point-of-care managed care formulary applications, electronic prescribing (ePrescribing), and electronic medical records (EMRs). While there is no doubt that these technologies will enhance patient treatment and deliver significant efficiencies to the US healthcare system, they have the potential to pose a significant challenge to the pharmaceutical industry.

The author argues that the pharmaceutical industry should make a more aggressive push towards the inclusion of their clinically relevant content at the point-of-prescription in on-line managed care formulary lookups and ePrescribing transactions. Only then will the industry begin to change what is looking like a threatening future to one which offers the industry a more level playing field.

Topics covered include:

• Generics and Low Copay Drugs Selected
• Factor CMS into the Equation
• Pharma Sponsored Messaging
• Pharma Should Support eRx Developers
• Precedents
• The Future: Threat or Opportunity?
• Point-of-Care Messaging Survey Results