Doctors' sloppy handwriting may be an old joke, but it's no laughing matter. After all, a recent study shows that as many as 7,000 people are killed each year by faulty prescriptions based on illegible handwriting.

So to avoid any problems, an increasing number of doctors are using a handheld computer instead of an old-fashioned pad to send prescriptions straight to the pharmacy with the touch of a button.

Among them is Dr. Michael Geer, who's in private practice in Birmingham, Ala.

"It's definitely the wave of the future," said Geer, one of an estimated 40,000 doctors nationwide who have switched to e-prescriptions. "I rarely write prescriptions these days, which is nice."

Experts estimate about 85,000 doctors nationwide will be writing e-prescriptions by the end of this year.

Five medical associations, including the American Academy of Family Physicians and American Academy of Pediatrics, are urging their doctors to use e-prescriptions.

And just last month the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association, a national association of drug plan administrators, started a national ad campaign to promote the practice. The group, which supports legislation that would require e-prescriptions in Medicare, claims it could prevent as many as 1.9 million medication errors and save the federal government billions of dollars over the next decade.

"From a patient's perspective, e-prescribing is by far the most important issue in the current Medicare debate because it could save their life or the life of someone they love," PCMA President and CEO Mark Merritt said when the ad was released.

Geer started prescribing electronically at the suggestion of Blue Cross/Blue Shield, which provided him with the necessary hardware and software. Using a Microsoft PocketPC and his office's wireless network, he can check patients' prescription records right in the exam room and see what medications they're taking. The system even warns him of potential drug interactions or allergies.

"It's all in one spot. I can pull them up and see exactly what they're on," Geer said. That's a help, since many patients can't remember the exact medication they're on or may be taking dozens of drugs.

It also transmits the prescription to the pharmacy instantly, saving patients time. More than 70 percent of pharmacies in the country accept e-prescriptions, with more joining every day, according to a Web site operated by SureScripts, an e-prescription company. Another prescription service, eRX NOW, allows doctors to use their own desktop, laptop or handheld computers - or even a wireless access cell phone - to transmit prescriptions over the Internet.

Many pharmacists are enthusiastic, saying it saves them the hassle of having to decode sloppy handwritten prescriptions.

But Jerry Newman, a pharmacist at Harbin Pharmacy in Mountain Brook, Ala., said that although e-prescriptions save time, he worries about not having a hard copy to refer back to as he fills orders calling for multiple medications.

"I'm not sure it's 100 percent safe at this point," he said. "If you're not really careful and paying attention, you could miss something."

Nonetheless, Newman said, there's a sense that his whole business may be wireless someday.

Geer said he's hoping to one day integrate the e-prescriptions with computerized medical records so patients' information can be accessed anywhere. The only downside, he said, is that he's dependent on the technology working.

"When the computers are down, you're down," he said. "You're kind of stuck with that fact." But that hasn't been an issue, he said. And anyway, he keeps the old prescription pads around just in case.