Content about Patient safety

WASHINGTON Capping a decade-long -– and ultimately victorious -– battle by pharmacy and technology interests to modernize all facets of the prescription prescribing and dispensing process, the Drug Enforcement Administration has struck down legal impediments to the electronic prescribing of controlled substances.

WHAT IT MEANS AND WHY IT'S IMPORTANT It was only a matter of time.

(THE NEWS: Walgreens taps clinician for new medical post. For the full story, click here)

WHAT IT MEANS AND WHY IT'S IMPORTANT Efforts by retail pharmacies and pharmacy groups to spur the adoption of electronic-prescribing technology among the nation’s technology-averse physicians are nothing new. Nor are collaborative campaigns that enlist pharmacies and technology vendors. But a joint campaign to speed e-prescribing by a pharmacy benefits manager and a health insurer? That’s a far less frequent occurrence.

WHAT IT MEANS AND WHY IT'S IMPORTANT The uptick in prescription drug sales growth may or may not be yet another indicator of improvement in the U.S. economy, but it is, without a doubt, indicative of a return to growth for the prescription drug market and, by extension, an indicator of growth among retail pharmacies.

(THE NEWS: U.S. drug sales saw growth in 2009, IMS Health says. For the full story, click here)

CARROLLTON, Ga. Greenway Medical Technologies, a provider of electronic health records, ambulatory health care and clinical research business solutions and services, will supply its integrated EHR and interoperability solution to Take Care Health Employer Solutions, which builds and operates workplace-based health centers.