Top states for electronic Rx ranked by Surescripts

Surescripts announced that Minnesota achieved the highest rate of e-prescribing use in the nation during 2011 to capture the No. 1 ranking in its seventh annual Safe-Rx Awards. After a five-year run at No. 1, Massachusetts falls to No. 2.

The rankings are determined by an analysis of data that measures electronic prescribing use by physicians, pharmacies and payers in each state. The top 10 states with the highest rates of e-prescribing, according to Surecripts, are:

1. Minnesota
2. Massachusetts
3. South Dakota
4. Delaware
5. New Hampshire
6. Iowa
7. North Carolina
8. Maine
9. Vermont
10. Michigan

Growth in the adoption and use of e-prescribing – which includes prescription routing, utilization of benefit information and utilization of medication history – created the most changes in the rankings over its seven-year history. According to Surescripts, the data indicates that state and federal initiatives to increase the adoption and use of e-prescribing by healthcare providers are significant drivers in e-prescribing’s growth.

Highlights from the rankings include:

• Prescribers in Minnesota routed 61% of prescriptions electronically.

• Massachusetts and New Hampshire have the highest rate of physician adoption at 86%.

• Nine states have more than 70% of physicians electronically routing prescriptions.

• North Dakota made the largest gains year over year, boosting its ranking from No. 47 to No. 18.

• New Hampshire, Nebraska and Minnesota all made double-digit gains in the ranking based on increased use of e-prescribing.

• Nationally, 91% of retail pharmacies are able to receive e-prescriptions.

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