BACKGROUND The aim of the study was to explore the impact of the implementation of an electronic prescribing and medication administration system (ePA) on the safety of medication administration in an inpatient hospital setting. Objectives were to compare the prevalence and types of: 1) medication administration errors, and 2) documentation discrepancies, between a paper and an ePA system. Addi...

The authors of “Electronic Prescribing: Improving the Efficiency and Accuracy of Prescribing in the Ambulatory Care Setting” write how e-prescribing can play an important role in enhancing safety and quality. E-prescribing allows prescribers to send prescriptions electronically to the pharmacy and can be a stand-alone system or part of an integrated EHR system. Research suggests medication erro...

BACKGROUND Antimicrobial resistance has emerged in recent years as a significant public health threat, which requires both an ethical and a scientific approach. In a recent Policy Delphi study, on-farm use of antimicrobials was a key concern identified by veterinary professionals in Ireland. In this case study (the second in a series of three resulting from a research workshop exploring the cha...

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES To examine the incidence of prescribing errors in a main public hospital in Pakistan and to assess the impact of introducing electronic prescribing system on the reduction of their incidence. BACKGROUND Medication errors are persistent in today's healthcare system. The impact of electronic prescribing on reducing errors has not been tested in developing world. DESIGN Pro...

OBJECTIVE Electronic health records (EHRs) have potential to improve quality and safety, but many physicians do not use these systems to full capacity. The objective of this study was to determine whether this usage gap is narrowing over time. DESIGN Follow-up mail survey of 1,144 physicians in Massachusetts who completed a 2005 survey. MEASUREMENTS Adoption of EHRs and availability and use of ...

Commercially available electronic prescribing systems may differ in their effects on patients' health outcomes and on patients' ability to manage costs. An expert panel convened to recommend specific features that would enable electronic prescribing systems to advance these goals. The panel authored sixty recommendations and rated each using a modified Delphi process. Ratings identified fifty-t...

OBJECTIVES The objective of this study was to determine the frequency of omitted doses of antibacterial agents and explore a number of risk factors, including the effect of a restricted antibacterial system. METHODS Antibacterial data were extracted from a hospital electronic prescribing and medication administration system for the period 1 January to 30 April 2014. Percentage dose omission r...

This policy statement identifies the potential value of electronic prescribing (e-prescribing) systems in improving quality and reducing harm in pediatric health care. On the basis of limited but positive pediatric data and on the basis of federal statutes that provide incentives for the use of e-prescribing systems, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends the adoption of e-prescribing sy...

Resistance to adoption has been identified as one of the major barriers to successful implementation of technological systems in hospitals. Acceptance of an electronic prescribing (e-prescribing) system is expected to occur if prescribers perceive a need for e-prescribing systems to reduce prescribing errors. We set out to examine doctors' perceptions of their prescribing competency and to iden...

Interest is resurging in the problems relating to the quality of patient care. This paper provides a comparative perspective on this issue from a five-country physician survey conducted in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States in 2000. Physicians in all five countries reported a recent decline in quality of care and concerns with how hospitals address medical...