E-PRESCRIBING AND PATIENT SAFETY: RESULTS FROM A MIXED METHOD STUDY

Area of Science:

• Health Informatics
• Patient Safety
• Ambulatory Care

Background:

• Electronic prescribing (e-prescribing) systems are increasingly adopted in ambulatory care settings.
• Assessing the impact of these systems on patient safety is crucial for optimizing healthcare delivery.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore ambulatory care clinicians' perspectives on how e-prescribing systems influence patient safety outcomes.
• To understand the perceived benefits and drawbacks of e-prescribing technology in clinical practice.

Main Methods:

• A mixed-method study involving surveys and focus groups with clinicians and staff across 64 practices in six U.S. states.
• Utilized both web-based and paper surveys to gather a comprehensive range of clinician opinions.

Main Results:

• Clinicians highly value features such as integrated medication lists from other providers and remote patient medication access.
• However, providers believe e-prescribing transforms rather than eliminates medication errors, introducing new issues like incorrect dosing, wrong drug selection, and duplicate prescriptions.

Conclusions:

• The integration of e-prescribing technology necessitates careful consideration of clinician experiences to achieve intended patient safety improvements.
• Realizing the full potential of e-prescribing for patient safety requires addressing the practical challenges and new error types identified by frontline providers.