Ready or not, hand-held prescribing is coming

Medication prescribing errors and adverse drug events are a major cause of illness in the United States. Computer-assisted prescribing has been shown to reduce the morbidity and mortality associated with these iatrogenic occurrences. In the past, the technology was not readily available for system-wide implementation. With the recent advances in wireless and hand-held technology, however, the opportunity now exists for physicians to take the next step in improving patient care. Steps should therefore be taken by the medical community to systematically begin implementing a comprehensive, fully integrated computer-assisted prescribing system.