One Year Later, Health Alliance Plan, Henry Ford Health System e-Prescribing Technology Hits 500,000 'Scripts

DETROIT, Feb. 22 /PRNewswire/ -- A year after an innovative electronic technology, e-Prescribing, was launched, more than 500,000 prescriptions have been filled by Henry Ford Medical Group. Their physicians now write more than 20,000 electronic prescriptions weekly.

The technology benefits patients who avoid potential complications due to drug interactions and saves money by using generics instead of brand name medications. As a result:

* More than 80,000 prescriptions were changed or cancelled due to drug- to-drug interaction alerts. e-Prescribing messages alerted doctors to 6,500 potential allergic reactions. * More than 50,000 prescriptions were changed or cancelled due to formulary alerts, which increased the use of generic drugs. * e-Prescribing has helped Henry Ford Medical Group improve its overall generic use rate by 7.3 percent, which will save $3.1 million in pharmacy costs over a one-year period.

"In virtually every way health care quality and costs can be measured, the benefits of e-prescribing are compelling," said Francine Parker, HAP president and CEO. "e-Prescribing creates a seamless electronic path from the doctor, to the pharmacist, to the patient. We at HAP are proud to be involved as a catalyst and pacesetter in a collaborative program that already is proving its worth to members and patients, providers and employers."

In February 2005 Health Alliance Plan (HAP) and the Henry Ford Medical Group piloted a major electronic prescribing initiative at the request of the Big Three automakers - General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and DaimlerChrysler, to cut prescription costs and improve quality. The 60- physician pilot was so successful, e-Prescribing quickly became a Henry Ford Health System-wide initiative, now engaging 300 primary care physicians in 24 Henry Ford medical centers. All medical specialists at Henry Ford will be using e-Prescribing by the end of the year.

Physicians find e-Prescribing easy to use. Doctors use a personal computer or wireless device such as a Pocket PC to order or refill prescriptions and then transmit them over the Internet to retail and mail-order pharmacies. HAP and Henry Ford provide training and ongoing support to office personnel, and HAP provides the funding support and project management for the program.

The adoption of e-Prescribing among physicians in the HFHS/HAP system is part of the Southeast Michigan e-Prescribing Initiative (SEMI), a collaboration between the Big Three Automakers, Michigan health plans, and Medco Health Solutions, Inc. Medco, the pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) for the partners in the collaboration, uses its experience with e-Prescribing technology to coordinate the implementation of the SEMI initiative and increase the adoption of e-Prescribing.

The automakers will use the success of the HAP-Henry Ford project to jump- start e-Prescribing throughout the state.

"General Motors commends Henry Ford Medical Group and HAP for achieving this significant milestone. The organization and its physicians have demonstrated thoughtful leadership in the area of electronic prescribing," said Marsha Manning, manager of Community Health Initiatives at GM. "We must all work together - businesses, the health care industry and consumers - to find solutions to controlling health care costs. This is a real life example of a collaboration that's contributing to higher quality and a more cost effective delivery system right here in southeast Michigan."

The e-Prescribing project is already proving its worth to physicians and clinicians using it.

"We at Henry Ford want to provide the most cost-effective and safest care for our patients," says Mark Kelley, M.D., executive vice president at Henry Ford and chief executive officer of the Henry Ford Medical Group. "With this electronic system, we can instantly review the patients' medication history and allergies. When we prescribe medications, the system can warn us of any adverse reactions and also recommend less expensive alternatives. This 'smart system' saves time for the doctor and patient, prevents complications, and saves money for the patient."

Numerous studies have found that e-Prescribing can save money and reduce medical errors:

* According to the Managed Care Institute, every 1 percent increase in the nation's generic prescription utilization rate would generate savings of $1.3 billion; generic drugs can cost as much as 70 percent less than brand name medications. Generic drugs are just as effective as their brand counterparts. * Congress included a provision in the Medicare Prescription Drug Improvement and Modernization Act requiring the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to adopt national standards for electronic prescriptions in the Medicare program by April 2008. * The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) estimates that use of e-Prescribing technology could eliminate as many as 2 million harmful drug events each year. * A 2003 Medco study of physicians using e-Prescribing technology found that physicians using the devices increased their generic substitution rates by over 15 percent and their generic dispensing rates by more than 8 percent. * Medco and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) have launched a two-year government-funded study of the impact of electronic prescribing on reducing medication errors and associated costs. About Health Alliance Plan

Headquartered in Detroit, Mich., Health Alliance Plan (http://www.hap.org/) is the nonprofit managed care arm of the Henry Ford Health System. HAP serves more than 577,000 members. The National Committee for Quality Assurance awarded HAP's commercial HMO its highest status, Excellent Accreditation, and Full Accreditation for Alliance Health and Life Insurance Company PPO products.

About Henry Ford Health System

Henry Ford Health System (http://www.henryford.com/), one of the country's leading health care systems, integrates primary and specialty care with research and education. It includes Henry Ford Hospital and four other hospitals; the 900-member Henry Ford Medical Group, 24 ambulatory centers and other health-related services located throughout southeastern Michigan.

About Medco

Medco Health Solutions, Inc. is a leader in managing prescription drug benefit programs that are designed to drive down the cost of pharmacy healthcare for private and public employers, health plans, labor unions and government agencies of all sizes. Medco, the highest-ranked prescription drug benefit manager on Fortune magazine's list of "America's Most Admired Companies," is a Fortune 50 company with 2004 revenues of $35 billion. On the Net: http://www.medco.com/.

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