Medication order communication using fax and document-imaging technologies.

Area of Science:

• Health Informatics
• Pharmacy Management
• Electronic Health Records

Background:

• Traditional paper-based medication orders present challenges in communication and retrieval.
• Existing systems like fax and pneumatic tubes have inherent inefficiencies and risks.
• The need for a streamlined, electronic solution for medication order management is critical in healthcare settings.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe the implementation of fax and document-imaging technology for electronic medication order communication.
• To evaluate a pharmacy order imaging system for improved communication and document retrieval.
• To transition from paper-based to electronic management of inpatient orders across a health system.

Main Methods:

• A commercially available pharmacy order imaging system was selected and customized.
• The system utilized existing fax machines and document-imaging software for order capture and transmission.
• Pharmacists retrieved order images for entry into an electronic medical record system.

Main Results:

• A 30-day trial was successfully completed at one hospital.
• Implementation across six additional hospitals occurred over 60 days.
• The transition to a standardized, electronic pharmacy document management application was achieved.

Conclusions:

• A seven-hospital health system successfully implemented electronic communication for inpatient paper-chart orders.
• The use of faxes and document-imaging technology eliminated problems associated with manual order delivery.
• A standardized application improved medication order management and workflow efficiency.