Principles of Electronic Prescribing

Electronic prescribing (EP) is a complex discipline, the success of which relies on the successful interplay of system design, data support and clinical practice. It represents the use of electronic systems to facilitate and enhance communication of a prescription or medicine order, and improves legibility and completeness of prescriptions, improves availability of electronic decision support tools at the point of prescribing, enables a comprehensive audit trail, and reduces medication-related errors. These benefits are far-reaching in significance, both in terms of their effects on risk management and risk reduction and their financial impact. Given the likely growth of interest in electronic medicines management, this discussion of relevant design issues and their impact is timely.

Electronic Prescribing: Principles and Practice discusses the basic principles of the design and implementation of secondary care electronic medicine management systems, and how they impact hospital workflow and clinical practice. It documents the key aspects of EP systems for use in secondary care, including design issues, data support, benefits and the ways in which electronic medicines management systems can optimize clinical and professional practice.Because of the significance of electronic medicines management to the whole medical supply chain, and the various stakeholders involved in the IT implementations, the book will be of interest to a wide range of professionals, from hospital pharmacists and prescribing physicians to health system managers and informaticians.

Autorentext

After qualifying in pharmacy and working as a hospital pharmacist, Stephen Goundrey-Smith subsequently studied Information Science at City University, London. He has worked as a medical information officer in the pharmaceutical industry, and as an analyst on electronic prescribing, pharmacy and medicines management software in the IT industry. He currently manages SGS PharmaSolutions, a specialist consultancy dealing in pharmacy informatics and contract professional communications for the international pharmaceutical industry. He has published a number of papers on clinical and information science issues, including, recently, the first comprehensive review of electronic prescribing system design and experience in the UK. He has also contributed to the recent Connecting for Health consultation on electronic prescribing requirements.

Zusammenfassung

Over the next few years, the Connecting for Health IT programme for the NHS in England is due to implement electronic prescribing systems at all hospitals in England. Furthermore, the other UK countries are likely to follow suit with clinical IT implementation programmes, and these developments will generate interest in electronic prescribing at European and international level. There is therefore likely to be an exponential growth in the significance of electronic prescribing over the next ten years. Principles of Electronic Prescribing discusses the basic principles of design and implementation of secondary care electronic medicines management systems, and how their design and configuration can impact on benefits realization, hospital workflow and clinical practice.

Inhalt
Philosophical & Social Framework of Electronic Medicines Management.- History and Context of Electronic Prescribing in the US and UK.- Organisation Benefits of Electronic Prescribing.- EP Systems as a Risk Management Tool.- Data Support for Electronic Medicines Management.- Electronic Medicines Management: Support for Professional Practice.- Electronic Medicines Management and Non-Medical Prescribing.- Electronic Prescribing and Future Priorities.