Building an E-Prescription Solution

Key Benefits of an E-Prescription Application

The Covid-19 pandemic has changed the attitudes toward paper document management in healthcare. Electronic management of medical documentaries is gaining more and more popularity nowadays. Modern technologies can minimize the contact between doctors and patients to avoid infection.

Though, medicine prescription software is not only about that. The solution allows for improving the quality of medical care by avoiding bad errors related to the human factor. The matter is that medication errors are one of the most widespread causes of side effects in modern medicine. More than 100,000 hospitalizations are reported due to suspected prescription errors in the USA every year. A lot of deaths in hospitals are also linked to such errors. Doctors’ prescription software can minimize these risks. E-prescribing apps also known as eRx software can become an essential part of the healthcare industry. This app development results in minimizing daily challenges and hazardous risks for patients, pharmacies, and physicians.

This article considers the key benefits of e-prescription software and explains how such apps actually work.

Up to 2020, about 85 percent of healthcare providers had switched to eRx software, and it is very good news. However, some developers don’t care much about the app’s design and interface. Such poorly implemented applications can also be harmful. Medical practitioners are seeking replacements for them if they do not want them properly, so they turn back to paper prescriptions. That results in errors, lack of safety, and loads of paperwork.

The software for doctor prescriptions was developed to facilitate the prescription process and avoid mixing up drug names, forms, and dosages. It can also reduce the number of phone calls from patients and pharmacies to confirm prescriptions or ensure their correctness. It will lead to a better workflow and increased productivity of pharmacy workers. Patient satisfaction will also grow.

Let’s consider the main benefits the eRx software can provide.

Clinical Decision Support

No clinician can keep all drug names and related information in mind. Moreover, many medications come in different forms and doses. A doctor should also be careful about side effects, allergies, and drug interactions.

E-prescription applications for Android and iOS allow a physician to read instructions attentively and without any rush. It also helps to speed up the process of filling prescriptions. Such an app has a drop-down list and default instructions for patients on how to take the preparation. The app also has access to patients’ historical data and medical charts. So, the system can offer support in making a decision considering dangerous doses, contraindications, possible side effects, and duplicate preparations.

Avoiding Lost or Unfilled Prescriptions

No therapist can follow a patient while they are filling prescriptions, buying drugs, and taking them. Patients can lose paper prescriptions, forget to buy medications, or refuse to take them. That is why more than 20 percent of paper prescriptions usually go unfilled. The application allows doctors to track such prescriptions and remind their clients that they should buy and take medications. The app has a special built-in chat for it. Pharmacists can also follow the frequency of filling in prescriptions for controlled drugs. It allows tracking possible drug abuse.

Prescribing Controlled Substances Has Become Easier

E-prescribing apps for iPhone and Android are connected to the database of the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PDMP). It allows for checking the patient’s use of controlled substances. It can prevent the growth of opioid-related addiction or abuse. Drug-seekers cannot change prescriptions anymore, and doctors cannot buy controlled drugs for illegal purposes.

Refilling Prescriptions Faster

Doctors and healthcare staff think refilling prescriptions be a huge workload. ERX software allows patients to get their prescriptions refilled much faster and more conveniently. Clinicians also find it easier to refill urgent prescriptions.

All in all, the possibility to avoid bad prescription errors is one of the most essential benefits, too. When a physician has easy access to the patient’s prescription history, they can check it for diagnoses, allergies, contraindications, weight, age, and other important indices. So, they can avoid prescribing improper medications or duplicate preparations. Healthcare providers can also pick up a more affordable drug option if a patient needs it. The application can even give access to insurance benefits information. That is why mobile development specialists are looking for new updates and tools to integrate their medicine prescription software with other systems.

What Is an E-Prescription App and How Does It Work?

Electronic prescribing is meant for medical workers to facilitate providing prescriptions to pharmacists and patients via a digital process. The main task and objective of the doctors’ prescription software are to help therapists get rid of traditionally time-consuming paperwork.

The formation of an electronic prescription is automated. It is simple to understand and very accurate, allowing for the elimination of possible bad errors. Such app development is a convenient and progressive way to minimize the risks of potential mistakes made during manual prescribing.

There are many examples of the efficient use of e-prescribing apps during the Covid-19 pandemic. Doctors do not need to contact their patients anymore, and it reduces the risks of infection and increases safety.

The development of such apps follows the primary e-prescribing objectives that are the following:

━ eliminating issues related to handwriting interpretations;

━ decreasing severe medical errors;

━ reducing the time needed for calls between patients and healthcare providers;

━ cutting down medical expenses;

━ accelerating prescription refilling additional requests from patients;

━ enhancing clinicians' and pharmacists’ efficiency;

━ reducing paper documentary flow.

These tasks, fulfilled automatically, ensure a lot of benefits to different healthcare participants, such as medical consultants, healthcare establishments, pharmacists, physicians, and patients.

E-prescribing apps display a wide range of functionality for all those categories of participants. Let’s consider their functions in detail.

App Functionality for Patients

For patients, this medicine prescription software is quite beneficial because it displays the prescribing history. Users can see their prescription list from any device, so both a patient and physician can observe the complete history of medication consumption. The patient can also see the dosage, prices, possible side effects, taking times, and substituting drugs. The app can serve as a reminder for taking medications if it has an implemented reminder option.

Patients can order their medications online or in a nearby pharmacy and get them delivered to their address. The app has a real-time order tracking option, too. Consumers can see their order history to review and repeat their previous orders.

E-prescribing apps for iPhone and Android are also integrated into different payment systems, allowing patients to pay for their orders in the most convenient way. The patient’s data feature contains information about insurance, personal status, treatment specialists, allergies, and many other important points.

App Functionality for Physicians

Physicians do not have to remember the names and characteristics of all specific drugs. The app allows them to view all the details. After that, it generates electronic prescriptions. Doctors also have access to their patient’s treatment history, blood group, allergies, and previous tests, as well as to the entire prescription history. Physicians can cancel the treatment or change it if they see such a need.

The app also has a feature that allows healthcare providers to follow the pending drug history of some specific clients. One of the examples is when the treatment course is completed, and the patient needs to start the next course via the app. A physician can check whether the patient has started it. The application also helps doctors access and send e-prescriptions to pharmacies to save time and effort in calling them.

The eRx software is helpful when a physician needs to prepare or view patient-related statistics. The app can do it in Word, PDF, Excel, or any other format, like RTF, HTML, Text, XLS, XLSX, CSV, or even in an image file.

The Functionality of E-Prescribing Apps for Other Healthcare Providers

Any healthcare provider on the Net can have access to:

━ patient’s data on health peculiarities;

━ prescription history to select the proper medication;

━ request renewal regarding prescription refill dates;

━ drug dosages and timing to help caretakers decide on the correct medication;

━ request renewal regarding prescription refill dates;

━ drug dosages and timing to help caretakers decide on the correct medication course fast.

Such options are essential for nursing staff, recreational facilities, caretakers, and everybody who looks after the patient and provides medical assistance to them.

The Functionality of ERX Software for Pharmacists

Pharmacists can benefit from the app when they have access to the therapy background and health condition of patients. They can see all medical information needed to avoid mistakes, like insurance, personal details, and currently prescribed drugs. They receive electronic prescriptions and store this data in special files. New order requests are also transferred to their pharmacy system.

Pharmacists can also use the app for accepting or declining the received orders. They have access to the patient’s previous orders, their status, and details, for example, when they are pending, completed, or new. The app also allows pharmacies to receive payments for medical products from consumers.

Medicine prescription software is also very helpful when a pharmacist needs to see whether a prescribed medication is in or out of stock. They can look for a medical product by name, brand, specification, category, or by using other important details.

Final Thoughts

As you can see, the software for doctor prescriptions is very helpful. It can solve a lot of issues. The main ones are safety and convenience in times of the pandemic and avoiding bad errors that can influence the patient’s health condition and treatment.

Such a solution has to provide a lot of functionality to doctors, pharmacists, caretakers, and patients to save them time, effort, and costs. That is why app developers need to be very careful and consistent to ensure such functionality, reliability, and easy-to-use options. If the app does not save time and effort but places additional challenges on its users, it does not make sense.

Trust doctors’ prescription software development to reputable and experienced professionals to make your healthcare service provision close to ideal.