Electronic Prescription Use Varies By Specialty

Electronic Prescription Use Varies By Specialty

In 2010, about 56% of physicians in the United States used e-prescribing technology, but access to e-prescribing varied among medical specialties. Compared with family physicians, access to e-prescribing was lower among general surgeons, obstetricians/gynecologists, dermatologists, psychiatrists, neurologists, and ophthalmologists. Among physicians with access to an e-prescribing system, the percentage that used the system to send prescriptions directly to a pharmacy also varied by specialty. The odds that a psychiatrist owned an e-prescribing system were 0.32. The odds that a psychiatrist with access to e-prescribing technology . . .