TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Hong Xiao, Ph.D., associate professor and interim director for Economic, Social and Administrative Pharmacy (ESAP) in the Florida A&M University (FAMU) Division in the College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences (COPPS) was appointed to the State Electronic Prescribing Panel.
The State Electronic Prescribing Advisory Panel advises the Agency for Health Care Administration on the status of the adoption of electronic prescribing and strategies for accelerating the use of electronic prescribing statewide.
“I am honored to be a member of the State e-Prescribing Advisory Panel,” said Xiao. “E-Prescribing is the new trend of medical practice which will inevitably reshape pharmacy practice. My research interest is to evaluate the potential impact of e-prescribing on health care delivery and patients.”
Among many other electronic prescribing benefits to patients, physicians, pharmacies, hospitals and taxpayers are the following:
• Prevents medication prescription errors caused by events such as illegible hand writing, look-alike or sound-alike drugs, drug-to-drug interactions, incorrect dosing, drug allergy reactions, duplication of drugs, etc. and, thereby, reduces health care and legal costs;
• Eliminates illegible prescriptions;
• Provides for real-time communications between doctors, pharmacies and patients;
• Provides critical drug alerts and patient specific information at the health care professionals’ fingertips;
• Provides drug pricing information;
• Provides payer coverage and preferred drug information;
• Creates a complete patient medication history;
• Reduces fraud and crime;
• Increases health care professional work efficiency and reduces administrative costs; and
• Expedites refills.
“We are elated and the COPPS family congratulates Dr. Xiao on her appointment to the e-Prescribing Advisory Panel,” Henry Lewis III, PharmD., dean and professor, FAMU COPPS. “The National e-Prescribing Initiative and Incentive Program is changing the face of interactions between the prescribing physician, the patient, and the pharmacist. Its potential to enhance patient health outcomes and reduce healthcare costs is tremendous.”
- 30 -
|