Numerous changes and technological advances are being continually introduced to the medical field worldwide. These improvements or new developments help modern medicine to progress and provide high quality patient outcomes. However, every implementation needs to be adequately analyzed and assessed. This change proposal will describe e-prescribing technology, its patient safety benefits, how it will be measured and evaluated, its implementation and communication process, as well as predictions in regards to possible resistance to change.
Change Proposal
Description of Change
E-prescribing is a relatively unused technology introduced to the field of medicine in the recent decade. Zadeh and Tremblay (2016) describe it as “a system that facilitates the interaction between physicians and pharmacies by enabling physicians to create and pass on prescriptions electronically to pharmacies” (p. 2). More than that, this technology allows medical professionals to assign medication according to patients’ allergies, needs, and previous medical history that is available within the system. It can also link the prescriptions with the patients’ insurance for more cost- and time-effective therapy.
Patient Safety
One of the significant benefits of using e-prescribing technology is a substantial increase in patient safety. Alotaibi and Frederico (2017) stated that a fully integrated and adequately used computerized prescription system increases the safety of patients, decreases the likelihood of medical errors, and reduces and mortality overall. Handwritten unreliable notes that a patient has to receive from a doctor and hand to a pharmacist personally are replaced by a physician sending the prescription to the pharmacy directly through the computer. This approach minimizes the risks of forging the documents, losing the note, or choosing a medication that does not fit a patient thanks to the compiled medical records and a responsive system. “It may have the feature of prompting the prescriber to any patient allergies and to interventions that should be prescribed based on clinical guideline recommendation” (Alotaibi & Frederico, 2017, p. 1774). The technology-driven strategy of prescriptions helps reduce medical errors and supplies physicians with additional guidance and information that would otherwise not be available.
Measurement and Assessment
Measuring and assessing the success of the newly adopted technological implementation is essential for continuous patient safety improvement. E-prescribing technology’s outcomes will be measured by comparing the amount of the medical errors that have occurred prior to the implementation and after the technology has been adopted. As the experience of numerous hospitals worldwide proves that e-prescriptions help reduce medical errors, the same results are expected upon the full adoption of the technology. For instance, Alotaibi and Federico (2017) demonstrated that it is forecasted to “reduce medication administration errors by 50% to 80%” (p. 1776).
Qualitative research can also be used when assessing the technology; for instance, both patients and physicians can be asked to complete a survey or a questionnaire asking whether the technology has improved or simplified the treatment (Kivekas et al., 2016, p. 816). The results will be compared and evaluated based on the expected outcomes such as decreased medical error probability, patient satisfaction, comfort, and safety, as well as the medical staff’s decreased stress levels.
Communication and Implementation
While theoretically acknowledging the benefits of the new e-prescribing technology is essential, understanding the implementation strategy is vital for productive adoption and usage. Firstly, the physical installation of the software within the existing electronic medical records system is needed. Healthcare informatics professionals will implement the e-prescribing system to connect physicians and pharmacists so that the process of medication prescriptions will be available on any medical facilities’ device like stationary computer, hand-held tablet, phone, etc. (Alotaibi & Federico, 2017). However, making the technology readily available for free use is not going to lead to immediate transition. For example, a study on e-prescribing technology acquisition by Artawan and Martini (2020) noted that although physicians were encouraged to utilize it actively, hospitals’ administration resisted change. Implementation procedures also need to be done in regards to the people who are going to use the technology, such as nurses, doctors, pharmacists, and patients themselves.
As per communicating the technology to the active participants of the prescription process, conveying the system’s purposes, benefits, and usability are three essential steps in implementation. Artawan and Martini (2020) stated that “previous experiences with e-prescribing or electronic medical records (EMR), participation in continuing education courses relating to e-prescribing, and plans for the future use of other technology” are primary drivers of change (p. 71). Thus, the staff needs to be educated on how the upcoming change will fit in the existing electronic medical records (EMR) system by conducting workshops and showing a step-by-step guide of the e-prescription process. Additionally, seminars and training need to be organized to ensure a mutual understanding of technology’s goals. For instance, communicating the benefits like cost- and time-efficiency, freeing medical assistants’ time currently dedicated to prescriptions, and reducing medical errors will result in more active use of e-prescriptions (Kivekas et al., 2016). Given that these training and communication would be conducted successfully; e-prescription technology would be fully implemented into the treatment process.
Human Factors and Resistance Related to Change
Although e-prescribing technology provides numerous benefits to the medical field, some human-related factors and resistance may appear as obstacles for implementation. Artawan and Martini (2020) had identified IT literacy and scarcity of professionals as one of the primary issues for the application. Area of healthcare informatics remains in great need of qualified workers capable of developing and embedding e-prescription into the existing EMRs. Additionally, current medical staff lacks technological knowledge, expertise, and proficiency to utilize e-prescriptions successfully. Uneducated usage might lead to counter-productive results like an increase in prescribing false medication and providing wrong information into the EMR (Zadeh & Tremblay, 2016). If both points are not minimized, e-prescription technology cannot be implemented and used correctly.
More than that, apart from human-related factors that act as resistance to change, the quality of the implementation itself and its maintenance can be obstacles for safe patient outcomes. Patient data security, for example, is one of the primary concerns among IT professionals that work on similar system implementations (Alotaibi & Federico, 2017). The risks of low data security and lack of technical competence among healthcare staff combined pose a threat to e-prescribing technology enactment.
Conclusion
In conclusion, e-prescribing technology is a viable addition to the existing healthcare informatics system that needs to be implemented. The efficiency would be measured and assessed by comparing the number of medical errors and analyzing the perceptions of cost- and time-effectiveness from physicians’ and patients’ sides. As per communication and implementation, the success of active participation relies on the understanding of goals of the e-prescribing technology, as well as how it functions within the existing framework. Lack of IT resources and technological competency among medical staff are the main resistors to change.
References
Alotaibi, Y., & Federico, F. (2017). The impact of health information technology on patient safety. Saudi Medical Journal, 38(12), 1173-1180.
Artawan, I. P., & Martini, I. A. O. (2020). Hospital E-prescribing implementation in reducing medication error. International Journal of Business, Economics & Management, 3(1), 67-76. Web.
Kivekas, E., Enlund, H., Borycki, E., & Saranto, K. (2016). General practitioners’ attitudes towards electronic prescribing and the use of the national prescription centre. Journal of Evaluation in Clinical Practice, 22(5), 816-825.
Zadeh, E. P., & Tremblay, M. (2016). A review of the literature and proposed classification on e-prescribing: Functions, assimilation stages, benefits, concerns, and risks. Social and Administrative Pharmacy, 12(1), 1-19.