E-prescription is here to stay

WASHINGTON Economic stimulus legislation making its way through the US Congress includes about $20 billion (Dh73.4 billion) to accelerate adoption of health information technology including electronic prescribing of drugs.

US President Barack Obama has made e-prescribing an element of his plan to improve the US healthcare system.

In the US, an estimated 12 per cent of doctors – about 70,000 – use e-prescribing, according to e-prescription network SureScripts-RxHub.

Proponents say e-prescribing is more efficient and cuts down on medical errors, such as getting the wrong medication because of a doctor's poor handwriting or getting the wrong drug because it has a name similar to another one.

How it works

• Doctor uses e-prescribing or EMR (Electronic Medical Record) software to send a request of a patient's medical history along with a drug plan to the pharmacist from his PC.
• Doctor enters prescription that is clinically appropriate and is covered by insurance.
• The prescription reaches the pharmacy's computer before the patient leaves the examination room. This saves time.
• The pharmacist fills the prescription and gives the medicine/s to the patient.
• When a patient runs out of drugs, the pharmacist sends a renewal request to the doctor.
• Doctor electronically approves the renewal request.