Media Release

For: Immediate Release
Date: February 27, 2007 - 2:30 p.m.

Rhode Island Receives SafeRx Award; Department of Health Publishes Names of All Electronic Prescribers in RI

The Rhode Island Department of Health (HEALTH) is pleased to announce that today Rhode Island received a SafeRx award for the second year in a row. The SafeRx award recognizes the progress Rhode Island has made in increasing the adoption of electronic prescribing among health care providers and pharmacies and the resulting enhancement to patient safety. The SafeRx award was also given to three members of Rhode Island's physician community, all of whom have demonstrated outstanding leadership through their use of e-prescribing technology : Dr. David Gorelick, Dr. Jayanthi Parameswaran, and Dr. Ralph Earp, all of Newport.

Director of Health David R. Gifford, MD, MPH credits strong community collaboration as the reason for Rhode Island's high ranking nationwide in e-prescribing. "Through the community partnership organized through efforts such as the Rhode Island Quality Institute's Statewide Electronic Prescribing Committee, many organizations are coordinating to promote electronic prescribing and find ways to increase its adoption", said Dr. Gifford. Dr. Gifford chairs the RIQI Statewide E-Prescribing Committee. Dr. Gifford added, "Electronic prescribing has the potential to improve the quality of patient care and increase the efficiency of the health care system. It saves time for health care providers and eliminates illegible handwriting and other safety risks for patients."

In addition to the three physicians receiving the SafeRx award today, the Department of Health also recognizes all 733 clinicians (e.g., physicians, physician assistants, nurse practitioners) who currently write and transmit prescriptions electronically. HEALTH is pleased to announce that for the first time today, the names of these clinicians are posted on the Department of Health website: www.health.ri.gov/eprescribing/. HEALTH will update this list on a quarterly basis so that members of the public can find out if their physician or other primary care provider has adopted electronic prescribing as a means to increase consumer safety, quality, convenience, and efficiency. This is one step in a larger effort to make more information about health care providers in Rhode Island available to the public.

The SafeRx award is an annual award given by the National Association of Community Pharmacists, the National Association of Chain Drug Stores, and SureScripts, the company that administers the network connecting physician offices and pharmacies for e-prescribing. The award is given in recognition of outstanding leadership shown by state officials, practicing physicians and leading healthcare organizations across the country that have helped make the prescribing of medication as safe and efficient as possible.