TY - JOUR
T1 - Evaluation of e-prescribing in chain community pharmacy
T2 - Best-practice recommendations
AU - Rupp, Michael T.
AU - Warholak, Terri L.
N1 - Funding Information:
This survey is part of a research project funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and your participation in it is approved by your employer. The purpose of the survey is to assess your opinions about electronic prescribing and its role in community pharmacy practice. Your participation in this research is entirely voluntary and we greatly appreciate your cooperation.
Funding Information:
Funding: Supported by grant 1 U18 HS016394 from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
PY - 2008
Y1 - 2008
N2 - Objectives: To measure the attitudes and beliefs of community-based pharmacists and technicians toward electronic prescribing (e-prescribing) and the processing of e-prescriptions and to generate best-practice recommendations for changes to improve e-prescribing in the community setting. Design: Descriptive, nonexperimental, cross-sectional study. Setting: 422 chain community pharmacies in six states that met a minimum dispensing volume of five e-prescriptions per day. Data were collected between April and July 2006. Participants: Pharmacists, technicians, and student interns. Intervention: Receiving, processing, and dispensing of e-prescriptions assessed via self-administered survey and follow-up interviews of key pharmacy operations and information technology management in each participating chain pharmacy organization. Main outcome measures: Attitudes, beliefs, and satisfaction of pharmacy personnel regarding e-prescribing, compared with conventional prescribing, and recommendations for improving e-prescribing in the community practice setting. Results: 1,094 surveys were returned from pharmacy personnel practicing in 276 chain community pharmacies. Pharmacy personnel preferred e-prescriptions over conventional prescriptions on each of seven desired outcomes of care. Pharmacists were found to view e-prescribing more positively than technicians (P < 0.05) for its net effect on three key outcomes: patient safety, effectiveness of care, and efficiency of care. A total of 2,235 written comments were received on the returned surveys. Of these, 57% (1,277) mentioned negative features of e-prescribing, while 43% (958) noted positive features. Improved clarity and/or legibility of prescriptions was the most frequently cited advantage of e-prescribing, followed closely by improved speed or efficiency of processing. Prescribing errors were the most commonly cited negative feature of e-prescribing, particularly those stating a wrong drug or wrong directions. Conclusion: Pharmacy personnel were generally satisfied with the current status of e-prescribing, but they also perceive key weaknesses in how it has been implemented in physicians' practices and their own organizations. A total of 11 best-practice recommendations are offered to improve e-prescribing in the chain community pharmacy setting.
AB - Objectives: To measure the attitudes and beliefs of community-based pharmacists and technicians toward electronic prescribing (e-prescribing) and the processing of e-prescriptions and to generate best-practice recommendations for changes to improve e-prescribing in the community setting. Design: Descriptive, nonexperimental, cross-sectional study. Setting: 422 chain community pharmacies in six states that met a minimum dispensing volume of five e-prescriptions per day. Data were collected between April and July 2006. Participants: Pharmacists, technicians, and student interns. Intervention: Receiving, processing, and dispensing of e-prescriptions assessed via self-administered survey and follow-up interviews of key pharmacy operations and information technology management in each participating chain pharmacy organization. Main outcome measures: Attitudes, beliefs, and satisfaction of pharmacy personnel regarding e-prescribing, compared with conventional prescribing, and recommendations for improving e-prescribing in the community practice setting. Results: 1,094 surveys were returned from pharmacy personnel practicing in 276 chain community pharmacies. Pharmacy personnel preferred e-prescriptions over conventional prescriptions on each of seven desired outcomes of care. Pharmacists were found to view e-prescribing more positively than technicians (P < 0.05) for its net effect on three key outcomes: patient safety, effectiveness of care, and efficiency of care. A total of 2,235 written comments were received on the returned surveys. Of these, 57% (1,277) mentioned negative features of e-prescribing, while 43% (958) noted positive features. Improved clarity and/or legibility of prescriptions was the most frequently cited advantage of e-prescribing, followed closely by improved speed or efficiency of processing. Prescribing errors were the most commonly cited negative feature of e-prescribing, particularly those stating a wrong drug or wrong directions. Conclusion: Pharmacy personnel were generally satisfied with the current status of e-prescribing, but they also perceive key weaknesses in how it has been implemented in physicians' practices and their own organizations. A total of 11 best-practice recommendations are offered to improve e-prescribing in the chain community pharmacy setting.
KW - Community pharmacy
KW - E-prescribing
KW - Practice guidelines
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U2 - 10.1331/JAPhA.2008.07031
DO - 10.1331/JAPhA.2008.07031
M3 - Article
C2 - 18595821
AN - SCOPUS:52049088994
SN - 1544-3191
VL - 48
SP - 364
EP - 370
JO - Journal of the American Pharmacists Association
JF - Journal of the American Pharmacists Association
IS - 3
ER -