Electronic prescribing: introduction of a new prescribing style applied in Outpatient Pharmacy UMMC

The Electronic Prescribing: A New Prescribing Style Applied in Outpatient Pharmacy UMMC report is to expand the use of electronic prescribing that can significantly improve medication safety and improving health outcomes related to medications for UMMC patients.
Objectives: This report is mainly aim to introduce the significant use of electronic prescribing at Outpatient Pharmacy, UMMC. It provides the overview of workflows of electronic prescribing and comparisons between electronic prescribing and manual presc1ibing. We also studied the awareness of electronic prescribing among patients, pharmacists and doctors. Beside that, this report also done to determine whether electronic prescribing can reduce patients waiting time to get their medications.
Method:
Study design- Two surveys done for two different groups which are patients (n= I 00) and doctors/pharmacists (n= I 00) to determine the awareness of electronic presc1ibing at Outpatient Pharmacy, UMMC. Results for patients' waiting time were collected by using Queue Management System (QMS). Comparative study also done by compared between electronic prescription and manual prescription.
Data collection- From the survey, we included the patients who were taking their medications at Outpatients Pharmacy, UMMC only and we excluded the patients from another branches of pharmacy at UMMC.
Data analysis- All the data from the surveys were organized and analyzes using Microsoft Excel 2003. Result for patients waiting time were represented by tables and analyzed by charts.
Results- From the comparisons, we analyzed that electronic prescribing has many advantages over manual prescribing. In addition, electronic prescribing also reduces the patients' waiting time to collect their medications. Fmthe1more, mostly patients, pharmacists and doctors were aware about the existence of electronic prescribing at Outpatient Pharmacy, UMMC. Nevertheless, there are some limitations exist in e-Rx system such as system failure and confusing among patients about this system. As a conclusion, this system has to improve from time to time in order to reduce medication errors and improve the medication management in UMMC.