Drug prescriptions are one of the most complex healthcare delivery aspects, vital for the treatment process, and require significant resources to ensure safety. E-prescribing technology is a digital prescription system that helps to optimize and monitor the prescription process. This report will examine the E-prescribing technology, its benefits, and the process of implementation into a healthcare IT system.
Technology Description
Electronic prescribing (E-prescribing) is a technological framework and an information system that allows health practitioners to digitally write, modify, and send prescriptions to patients and pharmacies. The E-prescribing system serves as a sophisticated reference and communication tool instead of using traditional and less effective methods such as handwritten notes, fax, or telephone calls which require more time and human resources.
The IT system allows practitioners to view patient history, interact with pharmacies to determine available medicines, and set limits on refills. Furthermore, sophisticated E-prescribing frameworks offer artificial intelligence by monitoring and warning clinicians about potential allergic reactions or medication incompatibility, as well as the availability of generic alternatives (Fuchs, Lo, Peterman, Camp, & Chase, 2016). Overall, E-prescribing is a highly efficient system that offers a wide variety of functionalities meant to optimize the drug prescription process and eliminate potential errors or abuse.
Patient Benefits and Safety
As mentioned above, the E-prescribing system was developed not only for efficiency purposes but also to enhance the patient’s quality and safety. The digitization of prescription placement significantly reduces the potential for human error in the sharing of information. Aspects such as indiscernible drug names, incorrect dosages, duplication of therapy, and misinterpretation common in handwritten prescriptions are eliminated.
Furthermore, the system helps to manage drug abuse by placing limits on refills and time between them. Since information is shared among pharmacies, it becomes more difficult to abuse. Illegal manipulation of prescriptions is reduced as well. E-prescribing also provides clinical support for practitioners by triggering alerts for known allergies or drug interactions. This can be vital for the health and safety of patients with severe conditions, children, or pregnancy. Finally, the system offers the benefit of medication adherence since it allows for tracking whether prescriptions were filled and avoided human error such as forgetfulness or losing the paper prescription. Controlled substance use can be better managed through the system as well (Zadeh & Tremblay, 2016).
Resistance to Change
Large-scale changes in healthcare informatics and subsequent processes are often met with significant resistance, as demonstrated in the early stages of EHR implementation as part of ARRA. There are numerous factors that impact resistance to informatics innovation. Some fear that it endangers their job position as more aspects of healthcare are digitized or automated, and the organization must undergo structural changes to implement new innovations.
The introduction of advanced information technology into an organization leads to changes in the material design of electronic devices, communication among staff, and overall changes to the healthcare delivery process.
This leaves staff having to cope with such drastic changes, with many not comfortable around new technologies or willing to abandon the procedures and frames of reference that have been incorporated through years of training. Others, such as administrators and physicians, believe that informatics systems limit their autonomy of practice and control. Some medical professions require high autonomy needs and view organizational change negatively, particularly if it affects independently prioritized work (Barrett, 2017).
Communicating and Implementing Change
The key to overcoming resistance to IT innovation is competent human management, with a focus on strong communication and appropriate implementation strategies. The process should begin with a comprehensive assessment of an organization’s capacity to change as each one differs based on culture and employees. Effective communication tools such as meetings, weekly emails, top-down staff communication, a project website, and others can be used. Organizational leaders should leverage all existing communication channels through the process as technological change takes time to implement
By being able to identify organizational capacity, the inherent drives for change and its benefits, as well as employee attitudes and needs, team managers and nursing leaders can work collaboratively to develop strategies that will support employees during the transition. Any points of difficulty, both human and technological, should be considered, and each stage of the transition should offer technical and operational support in order to help the planning and execution process. Implementation can be improved by conducting a thorough analysis of the workflow to limit disruptions and prevent potential risks. Furthermore, consistent feedback from the project team, employees, and patients can aid significantly in improving the process and ensuring the transition is smoother, thus managing resistance (Al-Haddad & Kotnour, 2015).
Measuring Impact
The impact measurement of the E-prescribing change can be based on two key groups of indicators: adoption and outcomes. Adoption consists of how commonly and correctly the system is used by healthcare providers and administrators as well as regular patients if some of the services extend to them. Aspects that should be considered for adoption are the length of time it took to implement, percentage of the total prescriptions filed through E-prescribing, satisfaction of use, and savings, both time and financial (Parv, Kruus, Mõtte, & Ross, 2014).
The quality indicator should be considered in the context of care, such as the efficiency and validity of the system (lack of errors), rate of adverse drug events in patients receiving medication via E-prescriptions via those that do not, and other drug-related health risks (Gabriel, Powers, Encinosa, & Bynum, 2017).
Conclusion
Overall, E-prescribing technology has significant potential for healthcare delivery. It is vital to overcoming barriers in implementation and technological compatibility as well as staff acceptance of the system in the everyday workflow. In turn, this can have significant benefits for patient safety and health.
References
Al-Haddad, S., & Kotnour, T. (2015). Integrating the organizational change literature: a model for successful change. Journal of Organizational Change Management, 28(2), 234-262. Web.
Barrett, A. K. (2017). Electronic health record (EHR) organizational change: Explaining resistance through profession, organizational experience, and EHR communication quality. Health Communication, 33(4), 496-506. Web.
Fuchs, J., Lo, H., Peterman, A., Camp, E., & Chase, L. (2016). A Quality Improvement Initiative: Improving the Frequency of Inpatient Electronic Prescribing. Pediatrics, 138(5), e20160760. Web.
Gabriel, M. H., Powers, C., Encinosa, W., & Bynum, J. P. W. (2017). E-prescribing and adverse drug events. Medical Care, 55(5), 456-462. Web.
Parv, L., Kruus, P., Mõtte, K., & Ross, P. (2014). An evaluation of e-prescribing at a national level. Informatics for Health and Social Care, 41(1), 78–95. Web.
Zadeh, P. C., & Tremblay, M. C. (2016). A review of the literature and proposed classification on e-prescribing: Functions, assimilation stages, benefits, concerns, and risks. Research in Social and Administrative Pharmacy, 12(1), 1-19. Web.