By prescribing generic statin medications and avoiding unnecessary testing, primary care physicians and cardiologists may be able to eliminate $6.7 billion in healthcare spending, according to a new analysis published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Electronic health records may be able to assist in this goal.

Researchers from the Mount Sinai School of Medicine examined the findings of a previously published study and discovered that 86 percent of unnecessary healthcare spending in primary care comes from prescriptions for expensive name-brand statin medications in situations where generics would suffice. Unnecessary cardiovascular testing accounted for the majority of the remainder.

"Our analysis shows astronomical costs associated with prescribing of brand name statins when effective, generic alternatives were available," said lead researcher Dr. Minal Kale. "Additionally, millions are spent on unnecessary blood work, scans and antibiotic prescriptions. Significant efforts to reduce this spending are required in order to stem these exorbitant activities."

EHR systems may be able to solve these problems in several ways. First, by giving physicians a view of a patient's entire treatment history, they may be able to skip redundant tests. Second, ePrescribing software can prompt doctors to offer generic medications when appropriate.