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DRIVERS AND TRENDS Pharmaceutical companies looking for new ways to raise their profile and influence the physician prescribing process need to establish a presence in the developing ePrescribing market. In the US, technology vendors have largely driven the promotion of ePrescribing systems in general practices and hospitals and the US market has seen the most pharmaceutical company involvement to date. However, the speed and success of government-sponsored trials in the UK suggest that the UK system has the potential to become the blueprint for future implementations. Technology vendors, pharmacists, health insurers and pharmaceutical companies are choosing to form alliances to ensure that their interests in the growing ePrescribing sector are secured. This Brief examines the benefits to pharmaceutical companies involved in ePrescribing and examines the interaction between the major stakeholders who are interested in establishing a presence in this growing market. DRIVING PHYSICIAN UPTAKE The benefits of ePrescribing to patients, physicians and pharmacists are clearly seen through improvements in compliance and reductions in adverse drug events and overall costs. However, while patient safety is the primary concern for physicians and pharmacists, a major driver in physician adoption of ePrescribing is seen through improvements in administrative processes. New ePrescribing technologies adopted by a practice must cause little disruption to existing workflows and need to show cost-saving benefits. ePrescribing technology vendors must ensure that their software is compatible with existing practice management systems so that the new software only has a minimal impact on practice administration. INDUSTRY STAKEHOLDERS FORM ALLIANCES The potential to reach physicians at the point of care has drawn interest among various healthcare stakeholders, including payers, pharmacists and pharmaceutical companies. The majority of industry players have formed alliances and collaborations in order to drive physician adoption of ePrescribing. Alliances allow these players to pool their different expertise and ensure that their interests are maintained as the ePrescribing sector grows further. In the US, technology vendors have driven physician adoption of ePrescribing technologies. Pharmaceutical companies realizing the potential in ePrescribing should form alliances to pool their unique expertise. Government sponsored ePrescribing schemes in the UK benefit from standardization, an issue that is key to future success of future implementation. However, at present government intervention in the UK has left little room for direct pharmaceutical company involvement. Pharmaceutical companies are interested in the activities of pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) in ePrescribing as PBMs can also directly influence the prescribing decisions of physicians. ACTION POINTS Action point 1 – In the US, pharmaceutical companies should look to partner with technology vendors in order to ensure that they have a central role in the development of ePrescribing systems. Action point 2 – Pharmaceutical companies should play a role in developing measurement tools to prove the efficiency gains for physicians, one of the key resistors in uptake of ePrescribing.