Market Report Source

Overview

Introduction

Technology has been used to either inform or expedite the prescribing process in most modern healthcare systems for over two decades. Recently, market forces – including greater regulatory intervention, increased investment from stakeholders and decreased resistance from end-users – have begun to converge to set the stage for widespread adoption of truly integrated ePrescribing solutions.

Scope

• Insight into the different approaches taken towards adoption of ePrescribing in the US and the EU
• Identification of current drivers of adoption and why they are important to the success of ePrescribing long-term
• Analysis of physicians’ and consumers’ views on ePrescribing and how they are affecting the rate of adoption in the US and EU
• Recommendations for pharmaceutical industry as to how to retain a share-of-voice in adoption, particularly as regards designing functional standards

Highlights

One of the greatest challenges facing ePrescribing has been finding a balance between the wants and needs of industry and end-users. Several stakeholders have been vying for influence over the design and implementation of ePrescribing systems. While this has served to move the market forward considerable conflicts of interest have also emerged. The attitude of the physician towards ePrescribing is the most important consideration for stakeholders because it is the point at which adoption either stalls or moves forward. Historically, physicians have been offered a variety of reasons and incentives to adopt ePrescribing, with varying degrees of success. It is the pharmaceutical industry’s responsibility to ensure that decisions made at the point of care are not unduly controlled by other stakeholders, such as disruptive messaging meant to influence a physician to continuously second-guess specific prescribing decisions, or inequitable screen displays, which give preference to certain treatments.

Reasons to Purchase

• Identify the dangers of the traditional paper-based prescribing model and how electronic prescribing can improve patient safety and compliance
• Understand the importance of developing electronic medical records in parallel with ePrescribing initiatives
• Assess opportunities for pharmaceutical companies to maintain a share-of-voice during the prescribing process

Table of Contents

CHAPTER 1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

SCOPE OF THE REPORT

KEY FINDINGS

CHAPTER 2 AN INTRODUCTION TO ELECTRONIC PRESCRIBING

THE TRADITIONAL PRESCRIBING MODEL AND ITS LIMITATIONS

MARKET FORCES DRIVING THE ADOPTION OF EPRESCRIBING

GREATER REGULATORY INTERVENTION

A TOP-DOWN APPROACH: ONGOING LESSONS FROM A CENTRALIZED HEALTHCARE SYSTEM

A BOTTOM-UP APPROACH: ONGOING LESSONS FROM A PRIVATIZED HEALTHCARE SYSTEM

THE BEST APPROACH: SEEING EPRESCRIBING FROM THE EYES OF THE END USERS

INCREASED INVESTMENT FROM STAKEHOLDERS

DECREASED RESISTANCE FROM END USERS

THE PHYSICIAN’S PERSPECTIVE

PHYSICIANS IN THE US

PHYSICIANS IN THE FIVE MAJOR EU MARKETS

THE PATIENT’S PERSPECTIVE

THE PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRY’S PERSPECTIVE

CHAPTER 3 THE FUTURE DECODED

PHYSICIANS: IMPROVING PATIENT SAFETY BY INCREASING USE OF DECISION-SUPPORT TOOLS

PATIENTS: IMPROVING COMPLIANCE BY IMPROVING PRESCRIBING EFFICIENCY

PHARMACEUTICAL COMPANIES: IMPROVING THE PRESCRIBING PROCESS BY MAINTAINING A SHARE-OF-VOICE

CHAPTER 4 BIBLIOGRAPHY

REFERENCED PUBLICATIONS AND ONLINE ARTICLES

DATAMONITOR RESOURCES

FURTHER READING

APPENDIX

DEFINITIONS AND ABBREVIATIONS

EXTENDED METHODOLOGY

DATAMONITOR INTERVIEWS

DATAMONITOR EHEALTH PHYSICIAN INSIGHT SURVEY 2005

DATAMONITOR EHEALTH CONSUMER INSIGHT SURVEY 2005

List of Figures

Figure 1: The term “ePrescribing” may or may not refer to the electronic transmission of prescriptions to the pharmacist

Figure 2: The traditional paper-based prescribing process results in errors and inefficiencies

Figure 3: A common national IT strategy paves the way for modernization initiatives in all healthcare systems

Figure 4: Stakeholders in the adoption of ePrescribing are interconnected, but at times can have conflicting interests

Figure 5: Physicians in the US and 5EU differed in their perceptions of the greatest barrier to their personal adoption of ePrescribing technologies

Figure 6: Physicians in the US are equally likely to write a prescription electronically as they are to submit a prescription electronically, regardless of the technology used

Figure 7: US physicians were much more positive about the likelihood that they will personally adopt ePrescribing than about the likelihood that their peers will do the same

Figure 8: Physicians in the 5EU made the distinction between using technology to write prescriptions and using technology to transmit prescriptions directly to the pharmacist

Figure 9: Physicians in the 5EU were somewhat more optimistic about the likelihood that they will personally adopt ePrescribing than about the likelihood that their peers will do the same

Figure 10: Patients are open to using the Internet to improve their access to information and medications

Figure 11: ePrescribing may present pharmaceutical companies with opportunities to gain increased access to information or improve patient compliance

Figure 12: The prescribing process leaves patients with many opportunities to opt out of receiving or picking up a prescribed medication

Figure 13: The pharmaceutical industry has a responsibility to ensure ePrescribing is not used as a means to influence prescribers at the point-of-care