E-Prescribing
Above all, a medical error may be the most egregious fault a physician can commit. Such mistakes can not only cost medical facilities and pharmacies money and physicians their reputation, but it can also result in patient harm or even the loss of life.
Studies show one of the most common medical errors concerns inaccurately prescribed medications. Pharmacists may misinterpret difficult-to-read handwriting on a prescription, while doctors may unknowingly prescribe a drug that's incompatible with existing medication due to poor records keeping.
However, there are solutions that may limit instances in which ambiguously written medications lead to costly medical errors. Electronic prescribing, or e-prescribing, is a technology that allows doctors to submit prescriptions to pharmacists quickly, easily and accurately. Electronic prescribing software, such as those offered by DAW Systems, can help facilities improve their level of patient care and service.
Increases the quality of care
Recent data shows the use of e-prescribing software has increased significantly within the past few years, partly because more doctors recognize the technology's benefits when it comes to patient care.
E-prescribing software allows physicians to submit easy-to-read medication information directly to a pharmacy. That helps avoid instances in which pharmacists misread a prescription and sell patients the wrong medication - a situation that can result in physical harm to the customer and liability risks to the pharmacy and physician.
Additionally, e-prescribing software often includes features that can alert doctors to a drug's potentially harmful interaction with another prescribed medication or a patient's allergies. Patient prescription information kept electronically can also be called upon easily by physicians and pharmacists to research and avoid such interactions. These capabilities only help doctors in their effort to provide the best quality care to their patients.
Remedies administrative inefficiencies
More and more health organizations recognize the benefit of e-prescribing when it comes to minimizing clerical error and improving healthcare service. The technology can also limit the financial and administrative burden medical errors have on facilities.
According to a 2006 report from the Institute of Medicine (IOM), the total annual cost of medication errors in major hospitals was $3.5 billion that year. That did not include the cost of errors in smaller or specialized facilities, though the IOM did note that in some cases, more of these mistakes may occur in those locations. Long-term care facilities may average 800,000 such instances each year, the report estimated, which was twice as many as were believed to occur in hospitals.
Ultimately, it should be clear to most practitioners that embracing e-prescribing technology can not only be helpful to their business, but may also be vital to present and future success. That's part of the reason why the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services implemented an incentive program to encourage physicians to make
For e-prescribing software, choose a trusted provider
While the benefits of e-prescribing software may be clear, implementing the technology into a daily practice can be a challenge for the inexperienced. Physicians who wish to adopt e-prescribing software in their business should turn to DAW Systems, which has sold top-of-the-line ScriptSure software since 1995.
DAW Systems' products provide doctors with solutions not only for their e-prescribing needs, but also for their daily medical practice management. The company also provides medical scheduling software and electronic medical records software that can help physicians operate a more efficient office and provide a higher quality of care to their clientele.
