Blue Cross And Blue Shield Of Kansas Recognized For Role In Improving ePrescribing, Fostering Safer Prescriptions

July 15, 2009

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas was recently recognized for its role in improving the success of ePrescribing in Kansas, helping the state to move into the Top 5 Most Improved States category as measured by Surescripts®.

Surescripts, the country's largest electronic prescribing network, created the Safe-Rx Awards to raise awareness of ePrescribing as a means of enhancing patient safety by providing a more secure, accurate and informed prescribing process.

The annual Safe-Rx Awards are given to the top 10 ePrescribing states in the nation and the five additional states that have shown the most significant improvement in the use of ePrescribing over the previous year. The rankings are determined by the number of prescriptions routed electronically as a percentage of the total number of prescriptions eligible for electronic routing.

"BCBSKS is pleased to recognize the many providers and pharmacies in Kansas who have chosen to utilize electronic prescriptions," said Michael Atwood, M.D., BCBSKS chief medical officer and medical director. "We believe that electronic prescriptions are safer prescriptions and increase member satisfaction. We will continue to support efforts to increase the use of electronic prescriptions for our members."

In an effort to help prevent medication errors, The Institute of Medicine has recommended that all prescriptions in the United States be written and received electronically by 2010.

"Electronic prescribing saves money, improves efficiency and, most importantly, reduces life or death medical errors," said Sen. John Kerry, (D-Mass.). "While we debate how to reform our health care system, improve quality or lower costs, one of our top priorities should include modernizing the way physicians write prescriptions."

About Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. BCBSKS is the state's largest health insurer, serving all Kansas counties except Johnson and Wyandotte.