[Good prescription practice for out-patients-quality requirements of prescriptions in Germany]

Because the written prescription is a central communication medium between the prescribing physician and the dispensing pharmacist measures to improve the prescription quality are top priorities. While most primary care physicians in Germany use electronic systems, in outpatient clinics and nursing homes and on special occasions such as emergency services and home visits, many prescriptions are still handwritten. Incorrectly and illegibly issued prescriptions impair the physician-pharmacist-patient relationship and thus represent a risk factor in the context of medication safety. Well issued prescriptions expedite the dispensing and thus the continuity of treatment of the patients and spare human resources by avoiding queries and unnecessary steps in the care process. At the same time, legible and unequivocal prescriptions facilitate measures for quality assurance by the dispensing pharmacists and are essential preconditions needed for insurance reimbursement. Probably the most important step to high quality prescriptions is the consistent use of suitable electronic prescription software. This is only possible if physicians are willing to cooperate and understand the significance and benefits of an electronic prescription system.