I found a couple things striking about these numbers. First, I think it is eye-opening to see how often the patient never gets the prescription filled. (And of course, filling it is NO guarantee they will actually take it). Bert, the sample size is pretty large here, so there may be variation from practice-to-practice or by specialty, geographic area, etc, but the overall number speaks for itself.
Second, you can significantly increase the frequency that the patient actually gets the medication in his hands simply by e-prescribing. I assume that is because they only have to make one trip to the pharmacy (maybe because they can pick it up on their way home before it slips their mind). This is one of the rare win-win-wins in healthcare: easier for the provider, more convenient for the patient, and with a better outcome.
