E-prescribing Integration: Crucial Benefits and Challenges

According to a recent study, e-prescribing is anticipated to reduce the risk of adverse drug events and risk of medication errors. In times when medical errors are the third leading cause of death in the USA, e-prescribing integration can be one of the biggest assets to reduce preventive deaths. Moreover, e-prescribing solves several issues of paper transcriptions such as deciphering the illegible handwriting of a physician. Integrating the e-prescribing feature in an EHR or any other healthcare software can optimize the e-prescription process.

This article highlights the benefits and challenges of e-prescribing integration with healthcare software.

Integrating E-prescribing In Workflows

With e-prescribing integration, healthcare providers can create and send transcriptions digitally to the patient-registered pharmacy. All they need is a stable internet connection and a device (laptops, computers, or tablet). So, rather than writing down a prescription, physicians are leveraging technology to get the job done faster.

The physicians have the privilege of choosing from a wide range of drugs, brand name, dosage, and instructions for the patients. The e-prescription is sent directly to the pharmacy and the patient can pick up their medication from there after the appointment (or have it delivered at their home).

Further, if there’s a need for a refill, then the patient can put in a request with the pharmacy, which gets approved by the physician. So, patients don’t have to go for a check-up to get a refill.

Benefits of E-prescribing Integration in Healthcare Software

1. Patient Safety

Patient safety without doubt is the most crucial aspect in healthcare. In 2022, there were over 1.25 million serious adverse events and about 175,000 deaths. Improper medication increases the chances of adverse drug events, thus leading to an increase in hospitalizations, morbidity, and healthcare costs.

E-prescribing integration in healthcare software can help to avoid adverse events. They trigger warning signs to healthcare providers in case of adverse drug-drug interactions, thus ensuring patient safety. Additionally, with e-prescribing patients receive dosage instructions, refill reminders, and educational resources on drugs. This ameliorates health outcomes and reduces the chances of medication errors too.

Apart from this, incorporation of a decision support systems (DSS) along with e-prescribing helps to identify potential drug-drug interactions, medication issues, allergies, and duplicate therapies.

2. Convenience

E-prescribing allows patients to purchase medications from the registered pharmacy online. They no longer have to physically visit the store; can have the drugs delivered at home upon a single click. This eliminates the effort and time associated with going to the store.

E-prescribing feature offers 24/7 customer services. It also provides in-depth description about drugs that may not be available in stores. Plus, patients benefit from purchasing medication online due to decreased overhead costs.

3. Better Workflow

E-prescribing is a boon for patients because it prevents drugs errors and aids patients in keeping on par with their treatment. The pharmacies also gain a lot from this feature. E-prescribing integration is known to streamline the prescription procedure.

It reduces waiting time as well, since patients no longer have to be physically present for the prescription and there’s no need to manually enter the prescription. Apart from this, calls for illegible orders are avoided, granting time to the pharmacist to counsel patients.

4. Reduced Costs

With e-prescribing integration, pharmacies can offer medications at low prices due to low overhead costs. Several pharmacies also give cost saving benefits to patients in the form of coupons, discounts, and promotional offers.

Cost reductions allow patients to save substantially on medications, which otherwise would’ve been expensive if purchased offline. Also, providing free shipping options to patients can reduce expenses.

5. Privacy and Accessibility

E-prescriptions generated via healthcare software are protected with healthcare rules and regulations – HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act). Patient data is protected securely by data encryption tools, thus keeping the patient information private and secured.

E-prescription records are invaluable in situations when patient safety is threatened such as drug recalls and natural disasters. Thereby making these records accessible at any given time. Patients can refer to these records for future treatment.

Challenges for E-prescribing Integration

Some of the challenges faced during e-prescribing integration are:

1. Privacy and Security: Providers of electronic prescriptions have effectively tackled the issue of electronically transmitted records between prescribers and pharmacies or between other organizations. It has been discovered that 128-bit encryption, which is the current standard, effectively protects electronic prescriptions and medical records. The use of e-prescribing for banned medications has not been approved by the US Drug Enforcement Administration.
2. Cost Disadvantages: E-prescribing integration expenses are transaction fees, maintenance, and startup charges. Smaller chain and independent pharmacies pay more to use e-prescribing software. Larger chain pharmacies are able to negotiate cheaper transaction fees.
3. Software Design Issues: Errors could be more likely due to e-prescribing software’s design aspects. Error-prone screen layouts, drop-down menus, and automatic filling features have all been pointed out as potential dangers to patient safety. System malfunctions and incompatibilities between technological designs could cause issues and inefficiencies in productivity. It has been demonstrated that the adverse effects of e-prescribing on pharmacy workflow have an adverse effect on patient care.

Conclusion

Like any new technological advancement, e-prescribing has benefits and drawbacks. It is anticipated that the use of cutting-edge e-prescribing software will increase patient safety by decreasing prescribing errors and streamlining pharmacy process.

Arkenea ranks among the top-rated healthcare software development companies and with 13+ years of experience under their belt, our dedicated team of designers and developers can help you with e-prescribing integrations that results in enhanced patient care and safety. Get in touch with our team for a consultation call right away.