OTHER STUDIES IN THIS ISSUE:

Impact of an Evidence-Based Computerized Decision Support System on Primary Care Prescription Costs
By S. Troy McMullin, Pharm.D., et al*
Electronic decision support systems that provide clinicians with evidence-based information about treatment options during the prescribing process are a possible solution to rising prescription costs. In a retrospective cohort study using a pharmacy claims database, researchers found that physicians using an electronic prescribing system with computerized decision support had significantly lower prescription costs than those in a control group. Among those using the system, the average cost per new prescription was $4.16 lower and the average cost for new and refilled prescriptions was $4.99 lower. The projected six-month savings from new prescriptions and their refills is estimated to be $3,450 per clinician. This article points to a possible solution to the problem of rising prescription expenditures that Fink and colleagues address in a study also published in this issue of Annals.
*Conflicts of interest: Authors McMullin and Lonergan are salaried employees of WELLINX (St. Louis, Mo.), owner of the computerized decision support system used by the intervention group. Co-author Dr. Thomas D. Doerr, M.D. is one of the founders of WELLINX and has an ownership interest in the company.

Physician-Patient Relationship and Medication Compliance: A Primary Care Investigation
By Ngaire Kerse, Ph.D., M.B.Ch.B., et al
Patients are one-third more likely to be compliant in taking medications prescribed during consultation with their physician if they understand the physician and agree with the physician about the nature of the presenting problem and suggested manageme
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Contact: Angela Lower
alower@aafp.org
913-906-6253
American Academy of Family Physicians
5-Oct-2004