Medical treatment is meticulous, just as it is vital.
Today, healthcare workers need the necessary digital devices to help with their patients’ well-being. Here’s where digital health can reshape the healthcare sector with its enhanced digital technologies that not only provide support for our workers in delivering patient care but also let our patients know that they control their health decisions.
Study shows that as of 2023, 75% of hospitals in the United States have been using electronic health record systems. Similarly with the hospitals in the United Kingdom that have implemented e-health initiatives, and Australian hospitals have started to invest in digitalizing their hospital services.
Additionally, during the COVID-19 Pandemic, 65 % of healthcare organizations have used digital technologies to enhance treatment for patients. Situations like this, which involve medical institutions around the world, have improved the overall healthcare system with digital transformation.
Thus, digital transformation has consistently gained relevance over the past 2 decades, along with Digital technologies (DTs), which have been proven to be significant in the healthcare industry for over 30 years.
Adopting these technologies has led experts to classify their functions such as measuring, informing, and knowledge development. For instance, the Italian National Health Service has been using the digital formats of its processes instead of paper-based ones.
Both healthcare workers and patients have sorted themselves with electronic health records, digital payment systems, e-prescriptions, etc. These modern alternatives to paper-based formats were eventuated with the existence of digital transformation, and it shows how innovative technology can assist in prevention, diagnosis, and clinical and service management.
Moreover, this blog will discuss topics related to digital transformation, such as:
- What is E-Prescribing?
- What is an E-Prescription?
- How do E-Prescriptions work?
What Is E-Prescribing (Electronic Prescribing)?
Electronic Prescribing, also known as E-Prescribing, refers to the digital process of creating and sending prescriptions directly from a prescriber to a pharmacy.
This digital process veritably:
- improves accuracy
- increases safety for patients
- reduces cost, and
- enables secure communication between our sedulous clinicians and pharmacies.
Considering these benefits, e-prescribing should be considered a modern alternative to traditional paper prescriptions. In fact, by 2010, the Institute of Medicine recommended that all prescriptions be written electronically, as e-prescriptions–the digitalized format of paper prescriptions–are now recognized to be one of the most promising tools for reducing medication errors.
In addition, E-Prescriptions (Electronic Prescriptions) were attested to have immensely improved patient safety since e-prescribing alerts the physicians and other healthcare workers in regards to medication and/or drug-related risks and problems.
This demonstrates how e-prescriptions can prevent possible adverse events among patients since the process is precisely a digital system that connects prescribers and pharmacies securely, making it less likely for there to be any medication errors.
Since physician office staff have learned to be accustomed to computer technology, they are capable of e-prescribing more often. More and more healthcare workers, prescribers, patients, pharmacies, health plans, and prescription benefit management companies have observed the advantages of e-prescribing and e-prescriptions in this digital age.
How Does E-Prescribing Work?
Given all that was written above, here are 5 steps on how Electronic Prescriptions work:
Prescription Creation
In this step of the process, the doctor uses e-prescribing software integrated with an electronic health record (EHR). This would involve the EHR connecting to a wide network of pharmacies, which provides the healthcare worker with a list of pharmacies deemed appropriate for your specific patient.
From there, the prescriber inputs the information and data relating to the medication, specifically the brand name, the dose, and the instructions for the patient. The prescriber then submits all of the prescription information to the platform.
Verification
Once the prescription information is submitted to the platform, the system checks for drug interactions and allergies. This step ensures that the medication is correctly prescribed to the right patient and will also connect to the patient’s insurance to verify coverage.
When the platform verifies that all of the information and data are accurate, the prescription will then be sent to the pharmacy to be filled.
Transmission
The prescription is securely sent to the patient’s chosen pharmacy through the platform. The staff of this chosen pharmacy are notified of the e-prescription arrival on the pharmacy system’s display screen.
Here, pharmacists are able to see icons or work log entries on their digital devices that they access in order to process the prescription that was transmitted. If there is a case where a pharmacy does not accept e-prescriptions, the intermediary converts the prescription to a fax or a scanned document.
Dispensing
When pharmacists receive the alert that a prescription was transmitted, they prepare the medication. In this last step of the process, the staff examines the structured data and prepares the prescribed medication for dispensing.
After everything is set and done, the chosen pharmacy then notifies the patient through a text, an email, or an app alert. There are some circumstances where delivery is coordinated between the patient and the mail-order/specialty pharmacies.
Lastly, understanding these step-by-step processes lets everyone recognize how pertinent it is to know how E-Prescriptions work for patients and healthcare workers in this day and age.
Benefits of E-Prescribing for Providers and Patients
Other than learning how electronic prescriptions work, discovering their benefits is just as important. These are some of the many benefits of what E-Prescribing can offer to providers and patients:
Improves Accuracy
By e-prescribing, it eliminates handwriting errors and reduces medication mistakes. Providers can incorporate drug databases, prescribing rules, and decision-support tools through e-prescription systems. The system features prevent incorrect prescriptions and erroneous processes, which greatly help providers and patients with their safety and more accurate medication.
Saves Time
With e-prescription, time is significantly reduced since there are no lost scripts, providers have instant renewals, and fewer phone calls are made between the doctor and the pharmacist.
Thus, healthcare workers can quickly create and send prescriptions, and pharmacists can parse them immediately, resulting in a happy patient who received their prescriptions with no delay.
Boosts Compliance
There are alerts for dosage errors, duplicate therapies, and allergies when verifying the e-prescription. Pharmacists are checking patients’ insurance formularies to ensure that specific medications are covered before prescribing and dispensing them to the patients. This takes into consideration how patients’ treatment is more compliant.
Enhances Patient Experience
Since there is faster medication pickup and fewer delays, e-prescribing increases patient satisfaction and compliance. With digital transformation, healthcare workers can send and receive prescriptions within the workflow, which enhances the experience for any kind of patient.
Better Record-Keeping
Systems used by doctors and pharmacists for every prescription are logged digitally for tracking and audits. The stored patient prescription makes it easier to track the medication history for each respective patient. It’s easier for the providers to have better record-keeping of prescriptions, and better for the patients to have their prescriptions organized and ready.
Learning about the benefits of e-prescriptions can help all providers and patients take that step in improving their experiences through digital health.
How E-Prescribing Helps Healthcare Providers
This digital age presents numerous opportunities for the healthcare sector to be enhanced by utilizing digital technologies. Healthcare providers are able to work and deliver tasks more diligently, starting with these electronic prescriptions.
Here’s how e-prescribing benefits the workflow:
- Streamlines workflow by integrating with EHRs, by eliminating duplicate data entry through automatically syncing prescription detail directly into the patient’s EHR. Saving valuable time during consultations.
- Reduces administrative burden and refill requests, by digitizing authorizations, it significantly cuts down on the volume of phone calls and faxes regarding refills, allowing staff to focus more on direct patient care.
- Enables safer prescribing decisions with real-time patient data. Here, providers receive instant automated alerts regarding drug-to-drug interactions, allergies, and medication history, ensuring every prescription is safe before it is sent.
- Improves communication between providers and pharmacists, since direct digital messaging connects the clinic and the pharmacy without delay, it removes confusion caused by illegible handwriting and clarifying orders instantly.
Overall, the benefits of electronic prescriptions for providers and doctors are evident in how it has proven to have increased workflow efficiency within hospitals and pharmacies.
How E-Prescribing Benefits Patients
Additionally, there is also the case for how e-prescriptions work for patients. Since e-prescriptions are digitalized medications that the patient currently needs, it is also essential to learn how e-prescribing can benefit all patients.
Considering the shift to digital health, it is vital to understand the specific advantages listed below:
- No need to carry paper prescriptions or risk losing them. This is primarily because the prescription is transmitted digitally, ensuring patients no longer have to keep track of physical slips of paper or worry about misplacing them before reaching the pharmacy.
- Prescriptions are ready at the pharmacy. Consequently, the order arrives at the pharmacy instantly often before the patient leaves the doctor’s office allowing the staff to prepare the medication immediately so it is ready upon arrival.
- Easier refills and renewals with reminders or notifications. Furthermore, these digital systems allow patients to request refills through portals without a visit and often provide automated text or email reminders when it is time to restock medication.
- Reduces wait times and confusion at the pharmacy counter. In effect, electronic orders eliminate issues with illegible handwriting, meaning pharmacists spend less time verifying details with doctors and more time assisting patients, leading to a quicker checkout.
Discovering the advantages of e-prescribing for patients can help them become more familiar with e-prescriptions, which leads to patients having a better experience.
As a result, patients will also have a more satisfying treatment with e-prescriptions.
The Pace+ E-Prescribing Module: Simplifying the Entire Process
The Pace+ E-Prescribing Module empowers healthcare providers to create, transmit, and track prescriptions in just a few clicks, all within a single connected platform. Streamlined for patients to use easily, and security for all individuals within the healthcare industry. When providers are able to have access to an electronic prescription system like the Pace+ E-Prescribing Module, they can see its features, such as:
Seamless Integration
It connects patients with an existing EHR or practice management system to ensure a smooth workflow. They have a better patient experience, and healthcare providers can easily be more efficient.
Smart Alerts
There are automatic checks for drug interactions, dosage accuracy, and allergies to improve patient safety. Hospital and pharmacy staff can conveniently analyze the medication history through digital devices.
Secure Transmission
Providers can send prescriptions instantly to the patient’s preferred pharmacy via an encrypted network. With a secure transmission, pharmacists are notified as soon as a prescription is delivered through the system.
Faster Renewals
Simplifies refills and renewals for both patients and providers. A quick renewal makes it easier for the healthcare provider to obtain the prescribed medicine, which also benefits the patient in terms of less waiting time.
Complete Visibility
Patients have real-time tracking of prescription status from creation to dispensing. This is where they can track their prescriptions and be informed of their current status, and if the prescription is ready to be picked up/delivered.
Why Providers Choose Pace+
Pace+ goes beyond basic e-prescribing. It’s a complete medication management solution that saves time, enhances patient care, and supports regulatory compliance.
Choose Pace+ not only for the features that focus on how e-prescribing works for providers, but also for how it evidently prioritizes the quality of service for both providers and patients.
That’s what makes Pace+ and their e-prescribing software stand out among the rest.
Common Questions About E-Prescribing
Q1: What is an e-prescription, and what is an example of it?
An e-prescription is a digital medication order sent securely from a healthcare provider to a pharmacy. An example is when a doctor uses the Pace+ E-Prescribing Module to transmit a prescription directly to a pharmacist, eliminating the need for a paper slip.
Q2: How do doctors send e-prescriptions?
When doctors learn about a patient’s health and medical history, they are able to enter the necessary prescription information into a computer. They know how electronic prescriptions work, and so they can securely transmit them to pharmacies using special e-prescribing software and a transmission network.
Q3: Are e-prescriptions safe and secure?
Yes. Pace+, for instance, utilizes robust security measures like encryption and multi-factor authentication (MFA). These protocols protect patient data and prevent unauthorized access throughout the transmission process.
Q4: Can I choose my pharmacy for an e-prescription?
Yes. You can choose a specific pharmacy that you prefer for your e-prescription. Most pharmacies work with e-prescriptions, but it is recommended to confirm ahead of time, as some require a printed copy.
Q5: Is e-prescribing mandatory for all doctors?
E-Prescribing is used by most doctors; however, there are exceptions among small prescribers or small providers. It is advised for patients to communicate with their doctors, as not all doctors are required to do e-prescribing in all cases.
Conclusion
Discovering and learning about electronic prescribing is essential for both providers and patients in order to have a more efficient and innovative experience.
These digital transformations were able to adjust the entire prescription process and fit it into the digital age, which led to making health care easier, faster, and a more satisfying experience for everyone involved.
Transitioning from paper scripts to digital ones is allowing medical institutions around the world to work with greater accuracy, reduce medication errors, improve patient safety, and enjoy smoother workflows. Moreover, the use of digital devices ensures patients receive their electronic prescriptions with convenience and no delay.
With these advancements, individuals across the health sector recognize how e-prescribing is revolutionizing the way traditional prescriptions are managed. E-prescribing has proven to make healthcare faster, safer, and more connected for everyone.
Start improving your healthcare services today with Pace+, where they prioritize keeping patient data organized, secure, and seamlessly managed, along with e-prescribing!
