Low-tech e-prescribing?

I just got an e-mail from the Florida Health Care Coalition about its new campaign to reduce prescribing errors. No, it’s not a statewide e-prescribing initiative, but a sticker that says “I won’t accept a prescription if I can’t read the writing.” It’s a phrase that supposedly originated from former Treasury Secretary Paul O’Neill, now a patient-safety advocate in Pittsburgh.

The group asks people to wear the stickers when they visit their physicians or to attach smaller ones to their insurance cards. It’s less than subtle and not exactly high-tech, but it’s an idea.

Either way, it won’t prevent transcription errors on the pharmacy end of things.