The four-year bonus program aims to improve the prescription process and cut down on the frequency of drug errors, which injured 1.5 million Americans annually, according to the Institute of Medicine.
In 2009 and 2010, doctors will receive an additional 2 percent bonus on top of their fee for using "e-prescribing" systems. That will drop to 1 percent in 2011 and 2012, and go to .5 percent in 2013, the final year of the program.
"We expect this will have a profound effect on the adoption and use of e-prescribing," said Mike Leavitt, secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, during a teleconference, according to HealthDay News.
Learn more about e-prescribing bonuses.
