That's because Sierra Health Services Inc. announced earlier this month that it is partnering with the Clark County Medical Society and will pay the startup and maintenance costs associated with the software to entice physicians to participate.

For the Clark County Medical Society's 800 members, that could mean fewer medication errors because of illegible handwriting, quicker prescription processing for patients and fewer incompatible drugs being prescribed.

Sierra's Chief Executive Dr. Anthony Marlon said there are multiple reasons why his company invested in this venture.

"I saw this as a win-win for the medical community in Las Vegas and for us," said Marlon, who is a cardiologist.

In addition to Sierra's 250 Southwest Medical Associates doctors, the insurer contracts with between 3,000 and 4,000 other doctors so it has a great deal of influence.

"It ultimately improves our business in the long term," he said. "The more doctors that use this technology -- it benefits them and the patients and the overall health care in this community."

Electronic prescribing will enable doctors to have fewer medication errors and improve patient care and satisfaction, Marlon said.

"When you're the insurer you can see an easy return on investment," but it can be harder for individual doctors to see the benefits of investing and that why Sierra and Chicago-based Allscripts picked up the initial tab, Marlon said.

The Allscripts technology also will encourage doctors to prescribe generic and formulary drugs, which are lower cost to patients, employers and in many cases, Sierra, he said.

While Sierra-contracted providers will be more likely to adopt the technology, Marlon said he hopes other doctors will give it a try.

"There are a lot of benefits to it," said Dr. Gregg Middleton, a rheumatologist of Southwest Medical Associates and a Clark County Medical Society member. "There's the old story that doctors' handwriting can't be read. There is a lot of truth to that. There are a lot of mistakes from that."

Doctors' handwriting is sometimes misinterpreted because medications can be spelled similarly, Middleton said.

Sierra has invested about $1 million to launch the statewide electronic medical record initiative, which includes paying the licensing fees for the first 10 years and part of the monthly maintenance fees for Clark County Medical Society members.

The monthly maintenance fee is $20 per physician and Sierra is paying half of that cost for the first two years and Allscripts -- the software provider -- is waiving the remainder.

Doctors who do not belong to the Clark County Medical Society can still receive the prescribing software at no cost to them, but they would be responsible for the monthly maintenance fee.

Once doctors enter the prescriptions into the computer they can print them, sign them and hand them to the patients to take to their pharmacies or they can electronically send the prescriptions to the pharmacies.

"A lot of times before I'm done talking to the patient the prescription is already there," Middleton said. "That's a big convenience factor for the patient."

Physicians can also see what prescriptions have been prescribed by other doctors to avoid drug interactions and duplicate prescriptions, he said.

"Unfortunately, especially with elderly patients, they will be seen in a number of places with the same complaints," he said. "Unknowingly, the doctors will prescribe medicines in the same family."

Sierra Health has been working with Allscripts for two years to create an electronic medical office -- including electronic prescriptions and an electronic patient record -- with its physicians' group, Southwest Medical Associates.

While the program will start with Clark County Medical Society members, Sierra plans to expand the partnership to all of Nevada's 5,000 physicians.

Whether doctors will eagerly trade in their pen and pad for a keyboard and mouse remains to be seen.

"Doctors as a whole tend to be a stubborn lot and tend to like to do things the way they've always done them," Middleton said. "There will be some who say 'no, the way I'm doing it is fine.' "

Dr. Ronald Kline, a pediatric oncologist and president of the Clark County Medical Society, said it is uncertain how quickly his colleagues will embrace the technology.

"My guess is it will be slow," Kline said. "New technologies are usually adopted slowly, especially when the current technology works.

"The technology is good technology," he said, adding that it would result in fewer medication errors and negative drug interactions.

He said that while the software has its perks, technology can be a "double-edged sword" because when computers crash work can be lost.

The one current drawback of the electronic prescription system at Southwest Medical Associates is that the computer system sometimes crashes, making the information and system unavailable.

While patient information is not lost, the company is working on a back-up system so that doctors never have to resort to handwritten prescriptions, Sierra spokeswoman Jenny DesVaux Oakes said.

Depending on the doctors' response to the electronic prescriptions, Sierra could look to partnering on an electronic medical record, Marlon said.

"I'm optimistic that we could take the second and third steps with an EMR down the road," he said.

Michelle Swafford covers health care and small business for In Business Las Vegas and its sister publication, the Las Vegas Sun. She can be reached by e-mail at swafford@lasvegassun.com or at (702) 259-2326.