Electronic prescribing is a technology framework that allows physicians and other medical practitioners to write and send prescriptions to a participating pharmacy electronically instead of using handwritten or faxed notes or calling in prescriptions.
E-prescribing, is quickly becoming the main way in which physicians communicate with pharmacies regarding prescriptions. In 2010, the DEA introduced a rule called the Electronic Prescriptions for Controlled Substances Rule, giving physicians the option to submit prescriptions electronically without legal barriers.
The DEA’s policy shift has prompted physicians and patients to realize some key benefits of E-prescribing:
- Helps to Prevent Drug Errors: E-Prescribing eliminates handwriting errors/illegibility and gives both physician and pharmacist access to a patient’s prescription history to reduce the chance of the wrong drug being dispensed. Pharmacists do not have to read handwriting or try to differentiate the name of a drug that is very similar to the name of another drug. Electronic prescriptions are easy to read and very clear.
- Works with Meaningful Use Requirements for electronic prescriptions: Electronic prescribing (eRx) is a basic foundation of meaningful use. Meaningful Use stage 3 will require that all physicians send at least 80 percent of prescriptions electronically.
- Stage 1 requires that 40 percent of prescriptions be sent electronically.
- Stage 2 requires that more than 50 percent be sent electronically.
- Stage 3 requires that 80 percent be sent electronically.
- Track patient fulfillment of prescriptions: When a physician gives a patient a handwritten prescription, there is no effective way to track whether the prescription was filled. Patients often forget to fill prescriptions, can’t afford the drug, lose the piece of paper, or start to feel better and decide not to take the medication. E-Prescribing allows physicians to verify whether patients fill prescriptions, and to counsel patients on medication management if they haven’t.
- Provides Alerts for Potential Reactions: Electronic prescribing platforms work with electronic health records, so all of a patient’s allergies, medical conditions, and other prescribed drugs are available to a physician when a drug is being prescribed. If a drug is prescribed that may negatively react with another prescription, exacerbate conditions, or cause an allergic reaction, the system alerts the physician. This can help to reduce injuries caused by adverse medication reactions.
- Reduces the number of lost prescriptions: When patients receive paper-based prescriptions, the prescriptions sometimes are forgotten and never filled, or are lost by the patient and must be re-written or called into the pharmacy. E-Prescribing sends the prescription directly to the pharmacy.
- Makes Controlled Substance Monitoring Possible: When a prescription is written, it is difficult to determine whether the patient got the prescription filled. Patients may decide not to get the prescription filled for many reasons, or they may forget, but the records will show that the patient was prescribed the drug and the assumption will be that they took it. This may alter medical care and record accuracy.
This is difficult to spot with paper prescriptions and even with faxed prescriptions. E-prescribing creates a record of all prescriptions that a patient has received, allowing effective monitoring and tracking that can help with identifying abuse and can improve the accuracy of patient records.
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