[Computer-aided prescribing: from utopia to reality]

To determine whether the introduction of computer-aided prescribing helped reduce the administrative burden at primary care centers.

Descriptive, cross-sectional design.

Torreblanca Health Center in the province of Seville, southern Spain. From 29 October 2003 to the present a pilot project involving nine pharmacies in the basic health zone served by this health center has been running to evaluate computer-aided prescribing (the Receta XXI project) with real patients.

All patients on the center's list of patients who came to the center for an administrative consultation to renew prescriptions for medications or supplies for long-term treatment.

Total number of administrative visits per patient for patients who came to the center to renew prescriptions for long-term treatment, as recorded by the Diraya system (Historia Clinica Digital del Ciudadano, or Citizen's Digital Medical Record) during the period from February to July 2004. Total number of the same type of administrative visits recorded by the previous system (TASS) during the period from February to July 2003.

The mean number of administrative visits per month during the period from February to July 2003 was 160, compared to a mean number of 64 visits during the period from February to July 2004. The reduction in the number of visits for prescription renewal was 60%.

Introducing a system for computer-aided prescribing significantly reduced the number of administrative visits for prescription renewal for long-term treatment. This could help reduce the administrative burden considerably in primary care if the system were used in all centers.