New York State will begin requiring doctors to order most prescriptions using electronic systems only by March 27, 2016. Many doctors and other health professionals in The Empire State are hesitant to the new policy.

Prescriptions are traditionally written, or printed, on slips of paper, which are handed to patients on their way to the drug store. Those days, at least in New York, may soon be coming to an end. Doctors must order antibiotics, blood pressure medicines, and painkillers, among other drugs, using electronic means. Those who do not use the e-script system face significant fines, jail time, and/or the loss of their license to practice medicine.

State regulators claim the new regulations were designed to reduce abuse of painkillers, and to reduce errors when prescriptions are filled. Currently, 60 percent of all prescription orders nationwide are filed through electronic systems, and the process is gaining popularity in recent years.

Although the system is one that many patients and doctors find useful, some healthcare professionals are concerned that the process may make it difficult for some patients to receive their needed medicine.

"When it works, it's seamless. But there are circumstances where it doesn't work, and patients suffer," said Dr. Michael Goldstein, an ophthalmologist and president of the New York County Medical Society.

New York will soon become the only state in the nation to require prescriptions to be sent electronically, and to provide criminal penalties for those healthcare providers who do not comply. Such e-scripts are legal in all 50 states, but no state sets fines for doctors who do not use the electronic systems.

Some healthcare officials are concerned that doctors will now have to face serious consequences if they do not issue e-scripts.

Proponents say that the new law will help reduce prescription forgeries and thefts. By using e-scripts, medical professionals can also easily check other drugs that a patient is taking, and easily obtain insurance information. The traditional messy handwriting of doctors on paper prescriptions results in an average of more than 350 deaths and 1.3 million injuries each year in the United States. Electronic prescriptions could eliminate those errors.

However, e-scripts could present their own problems, including orders sent to the wrong pharmacy, or to one that is out of stock of the required drug. Health care workers might also misspell the drug or select the wrong medicine from a long list of possibilities, warn skeptics.

Soon, patients and doctors in New York will learn how issuing all prescriptions electronically will affect health care in their state.

Image: Helge V. Keitel | Flickr