Paper prescriptions and electronic prescribing are two contrasting methods of medication management. The healthcare environment continues to morph along with the method of prescription creation. This paper is an attempt to shed light on how the two ways differ from one another, listing the advantages that each mode produces as well as the shortcomings of each in regard to both healthcare providers and patients and health care systems themselves. What are Electronic Prescribing? The term e-prescribing refers to a computer crafted and transmitted prescription except for a printed format. The process can take place with the use of a computer, or a tablet or even a mobile phone. Information of the prescription is captured directly by the prescriber using an electronic health record system. Characteristics of e-prescribing Direct Transference: The E-prescriptions are transmitted to the pharmacy. Thus, a paper prescription that the patient has to carry will be avoided. Real-time Alerts: E-prescribing systems can alert health care providers about real-time interactions of drugs, allergic reactions, and dosing mistakes that increase the safety of a patient. Patient History Access: Access to patient medication history increases the prescribing skills of health care providers. Better Workflow: Apart from the above, e-prescribing with EHRs has streamlined the workflow for the prescribers. What are Paper Prescriptions? The prescriptions that the prescribers complete in paper then hand over to the patient in a hard copy that the patient has to take physically to the pharmacy for dispensing. That was the prescription writing way in the old times for centuries. Traditional Prescription: Important Attributes Paper Prescription on Paper: Prescription is on paper. The prescription has to be taken to a pharmacy by the patients. Handwritten Reconciliation: The pharmacists have to write down the prescription information in their records, and it is one of the major sources of transcriptional errors. Inadequate Medication History: The healthcare providers do not get an instant of a detailed view of a patient’s medication history. Thus, the interactions are hard to identify. Paper prescriptions tend to get misplaced or even stolen. This puts the patient and pharmacies in danger. Electronic Prescribing Vs. Traditional Prescriptions 1- Safety and Accuracy E-Prescribing: The greatest advantage of e-prescribing is patient safety, in my view. Any e-prescribing system, by definition, contains decision support that pop-up reminders to a healthcare provider possible drug interactions, allergies, and contraindications. Real-time feedback from such systems may prevent adverse drug events as well as improve quality care. Electronic prescriptions eliminate the possibilities of misinterpretation via poor handwriting or vague instructions. Old Drugs. The prescription of the old medicine has been there from time immemorial. That is, they have been existing for ages; sometimes the inscriptions inside include unclear writings with imperfections. This leads to errors that often deceive pharmacists in presenting such prescriptions and, therefore leading to drug-related problems with the patient. 2- Efficiency and Inconvenience E-Prescribing: Efficiency comes because of optimizing the process of writing a prescription. The doctor can pen an easy prescription and then email it to a chosen pharmacy in time to spare the patient many hours of delay. Convenience does not stop at the doctor’s office for patients-they do not have to carry paper prescriptions with them very often; theirs is ready upon pickup. Traditional Prescriptions: The traditional prescribes one more step to the patient; that is, the prescription should be handed in personally at the pharmacy. This leads to added wait time and even delay in getting the prescribed medicine. Book Free Demo 3- Cost-Effectiveness E-Prescribing: One advantage in the use of e-prescribing is that it can reduce cost in the long run. For example, if the health care systems lower the medication errors, adverse drug events, hospitalizations and ED visits, then they are cutting their cost. Furthermore, electronic systems may help manage medication therapy better, and this might potentially be more cost-effective. Traditional Prescriptions: The cost of traditional prescription may also include potential costs of prescription error that ultimately might mean increased treatment cost and admission. But when set-up cost of the system might be on higher side of small practice of e-prescribing systems then they would pay up eventually too. 4- Patient Participation and Satisfaction E-Prescribing: E-prescribing supports the enhancement of activation as the patients will automatically receive reminders from the prescribers about the prescriptions that have been issued. The patient also can access his/her medication history and fills through a patient portal included with most EHR systems. This can potentially help enhance patient satisfaction and adherence to therapy. Patients on traditional prescriptions care less about their drug management. Patients in such prescriptions would often request the provider about their history of drugs that can only be retrieved if a patient requested the same. 5- Challenges and Limitations E-Prescribing: While e-prescribing has been treasured for its advantage, there is some disadvantage of undertaking it in practice. Technical constraint may include system breakdown or slow Internet connection hitch may slow down the process of prescribing. Not all pharmacies are e-prescription-capable, so that becomes a problem for the patient. Finally, there is a concern about electronic data transmission being used to ensure that sensitive information of patients does not fall into the wrong hands. Traditional Prescriptions. Traditional paper-based prescriptions are easy to lose, or even be stolen, and worse still, become forged. It takes some reasonable time before most patients get access to drugs simply because pharmacies run on few hours, take long in processing and, in a few cases, communicate other providers inaccurately. Impact on the Healthcare Providers With the introduction of e-prescribing, prescription management becomes different through its integration into the EHRs. Healthcare providers can easily smoothen out their workflows by enhancing quality care delivery. These are a few impacts for the healthcare provider as follows. 1- Simplify Workflow Probably the biggest advantage of such systems is a reduction of the administrative work load associated with prescriptions, thereby lessening the hassle that providers experience while handling prescriptions. Since it’s very easy and fast to input and transmit prescriptions, providers are able to devote much
Telemedicine technology, specifically e-prescribing technology has changed the face of the health system by embracing efficiency, accuracy, and safety. As the e-prescribing advances, several trends are set up to progress into the future. In this article, I will be presenting expectations for the future with regards to precreation, how technology is changing the practice, and the issues that come with change. The Current State of E-Prescribing However, knowing the present status of e-prescribing is vital for further concerns regarding the future trends to be discussed. E-prescribing is defined as the action through which prescriptions are electronically transmitted from prescribing health care practitioners to pharmacies with the purpose of eradicating errors of handwritten prescriptions. This technology has been on the rise across the United States mainly due to regulatory incentives and better patient safety. Advantages of E-Prescribing Error Minimization: E-prescribing removes misinterpretations that occur due to poor handwriting or ambiguity. Streamlined Workflow: Providers can fill prescriptions more easily, hence saving their time and increasing patient flow Medication Management: Many of the E-prescribing systems comprise alerts regarding possible drug interaction or allergies for providers Increased Convenience to Patients: Patients benefit by getting the medications much quicker because their prescriptions can be transmitted directly to a patient’s preferred pharmacy However, even better futures for e-prescribing can be gained. Future Trends in E-Prescribing Technology 1- EHRs Integration The more widespread EHRs are made, the more e-prescribing systems that are integrated with a platform of EHRs. With this, the histories of patients, their allergies, as well as the kind of medications they have administered are available at the service of the healthcare provider. Advantages of Integration A Comprehensive Patient View: The prescriptions can be written by healthcare professionals from the comprehensive view of the patient’s profile. Efficient Workflows: The e-prescribing integrated into EHRs saves providers from sifting through various systems, hence making workflow processes streamlined. Good Communication: The communication among the providers and pharmacies will also help in the instant sharing of information, hence reducing the time gap before prescription fulfillment. 2- Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning Artificial intelligence and machine learning will revolutionize e-prescribing by enhancing the processes of decision-making. It is possible to analyze tremendous volumes of data, making possible predictions of patient needs, which can lead to the delivery of tailored medication recommendations. Possible Applications: Predictive Analytics: AI can predict the possibility of a patient adhering to medication by past data. That way, providers will know the right time to intervene. Automated Alerts: AI-based systems can alert in real-time about potential drug interactions, allergies, or duplicate therapies to ensure patient safety. Personalized Treatment Plans: Machine learning algorithms will analyze patient responses to medications and tailor future prescriptions to better outcomes. Book Free Demo 3- Integration with Telehealth The process of e-prescribing has received a stimulus from the use of telehealth. Telehealth also means that healthcare providers are now capable of prescribing medicine from across the other side of the screen. There is the likelihood that e-prescribing systems will be connected to telehealth to increase the ease of prescribing with the increased use of telehealth. Telehealth Integration Impact Convenience for Patients: Patients will receive prescriptions during virtual consultations. This reduces in-person visits. Access to Care: Telehealth will allow patients in resource poor settings increased access to care, and the e-prescribing will enable them to obtain their medicines on time. Continuity of Care: A combination of e-prescribing with telehealth ensures continuity in medicine management as well as follow-up treatment. 4- Advanced Engagement Tools for Patients In future versions, sophisticated engagement tools would be common in e-prescribing systems. This means the patient can be involved actively in their care using apps on mobile devices, portal access, and reminders, among others. Reminders for Medication: Alert patients to take medication in due course; hence, increasing compliance rates. Availability of Information: The patient will have easy access to his prescription history, instructions on the intake of medicines, and warnings against the side effects through easily useable apps. Feedback Mechanisms: Patients are able to give their feedback in the prescription process, so that physicians are able to make a suitable adjustment based on them. 5- Blockchain The technology behind blockchain can help enhance some aspects of security and transparency when using e-prescribing systems. Through decentralized ledgers, a healthcare organization could be in a position to guarantee integrity for prescription data, implying it becomes hard for illegal activity execution. Benefits of Blockchain Security: Blockchain has capabilities to encrypt any prone patient information that may subject them to unauthorized access. Transparency: Shared ledgers would mean that providers, pharmacies, and patients would view actual prescriptions in real-time, which would help correct the discrepancies. Chain Supply Integrity: Blockchain means one could trace the chain of the medication, hence reducing the chances of having counterfeit drugs in the market 6- Interoperability Standards With the advancement in interoperability in the health sector, e-prescribing systems must follow standardized protocols for the free flow of data from one platform to another. This will lead to sharing of prescription information from different health settings. Benefits of Interoperability: Enhanced Care Coordination: Providers have the ability to view all medication history of the patient to enhance care coordination between different specialties Reduced Administrative Work: Standardized processes within the e-prescribing technology facilitate workflows, saving time spent on less meaningful administrative tasks Patient Safety Enhancement: Interoperability prevents mistakes from happening by using partial or incomplete prescription information. Limitations of E-Prescribing Technology Even though e-prescribing technology holds much promise for the future, there are still a few challenges in the way: 1- Legal Compliance E-prescribing software possesses all these several kinds of regulatory issues as well as the issues to patient’s right and safety and other among these, so that become a struggle of health organization. 2- Implementation Cost Costs advanced e-prescription system which is for most health in the small part and possibly it lacks money left on hand for everything. 3- Education and Acceptance It is very difficult to ensure that personnel, including health care providers, are adequately educated regarding
