In an effort to keep health care costs down and increase patient safety, the California Public Employees’ Retirement System partnered with Anthem Blue Cross, Blue Shield of California and Medco Health Solutions, Inc.

Together, the companies will be helping hospitals, private practice and other health care institutions in implementing the pilot program of an electronic prescription system.

“Our goal with this pilot project is to protect our members’ safety, while accelerating the acceptance and a adoption of e-prescribing by the physicians who serve them,” said Priya Mathur, the chair of CalPERS Health Benefits Committee. Mathur said e-prescribing improves patient safety, raises the quality of care provided and reduces costs to doctors, insurance companies and patients.

Physicians participating in the pilot will give their input on the best ways to use e-prescription technology. At the end of the program, a report will be issued that tracks drug interaction prevention, costs and overall use of the system.

California was ranked 22nd in the nation for using e-prescribing in 2008 according to an Electronic Prescribing Progress Report. It ranked 14th in 2005. Only 1.4 percent of prescriptions were sent electronically in 2007, the report stated.

"In the beginning, it took time to get used to, but after about a month, my staff became comfortable with the system, and now the benefits of e-Prescribing are apparent," said Dr. Alvin Sockolov, a family practitioner in Sacramento with the Hill Physicians Medical Group. "I can send prescriptions to local pharmacies or mail-order pharmacies and I'm alerted to potential drug-drug interactions and allergies. I can also select the best medication for my patients based on their insurance plan."

The physician groups volunteering for this pilot include: Hill Physicians Medical Group, John Muir Physician Network, PrimeCare Medical Network, Inc./North American Medical Management of California, San Jose Medical Group and Sante Community Physicians.