Bookmark & Share

Favorites	Google
Digg	Del.icio.us
Twitter	Facebook

>> More...

Rhode Island health officials have tapped electronic pharmacy prescription data to monitor the spread of the H1N1 influenza virus, the Associated Press reports. Using a system developed by Surescripts, which operates the country's largest electronic prescriptions network, health officials are collecting data on the amount of Tamiflu and other antivirals that are dispensed to patients by pharmacies. The data is then categorized by the ZIP code of the pharmacies where the medication is dispensed and the age of the patient receiving it and transmitted to epidemiologists at the state's health department. The data will be used to identify communities experiencing outbreaks, as well as to "reveal cases in which the medicine may be inappropriately or overzealously prescribed." Surescripts selected Rhode Island for the initiative because all of the state's pharmacies are connected to an electronic prescribing network. Currently, 80 percent of pharmacies are transmitting H1N1 data, but Surescripts expects to soon begin collecting data from all pharmacies. According to the AP, Rhode Island is believed to be the first state to use electronic pharmacy prescription data to track H1N1 among its entire population. If successful, the program could be expanded to other states (Tucker, AP/Yahoo! News, 10/25/09).