E-prescribing


 * Description **

Electronic prescribing or E-Prescribing is the process of sending an accurate, error free prescription from a point of care unit to the pharmacy of the patient's choice. The overall idea of implementing this process is to avoid human error of misinterpretation or misreading in order to maximize patient care and safety. Adopting e-prescribing in the United States is a step taken by the government to help make electronic medical records more prominent and continuing to make electronic health information more of a staple in the healthcare field (cms.gov).

The process begins with a physician logging in to a secure website and putting in credentials to authenticate their identity. When the physician is logged in, the system allows access to he or she within the clearance they are allowed to have (HRSA.gov). The physician then pulls up the patient records within the e-prescribing system and inputs all of the accurate information. This is a good practice because there will also be an accurate log of the patient's past care. The physician then adds the new medication and sends the prescription to the pharmacy of choice. The prescriber can also check which drugs your insurance covers in order to get the cheapest price (medicare.gov). The prescription then goes through a transaction hub which validates all of the patient's information and makes sure they are eligible for the prescription being processed (HRSA.gov). The pharmacy then gets the prescription, confirms with the transaction hub, and alerts the patient when it is filled. E-prescribing could be a step in the right direction for better and more accurate patient-care.


 * Application **

The field of health informatics is an up and coming field implementing the use of technology in healthcare. E-prescribing fits in with health informatics because it is taking the idea of using technology to better patient care and implementing it with prescriptions. Some doctors may have sloppy handwriting or miswrite the dosage on the prescription and then the patient is now in danger for their safety and also their care will be hindered because of it. E-prescribing takes away these human errors and makes the system flow much more smoothly. All of the information is passed over a secure site so none of your information is wide open on the web (E-prescriptions). As the process becomes more nationwide, many errors that do come up will be fixed and handwritten prescriptions will begin to become a thing of the past.


 * Resources **

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 * Additional Terms **

Mobile Health Technology Electronic Transfer of Prescriptions


 * Citations/References **

[|"How Does E-Prescribing Work?" HRSA. Web. 28 Oct. 2015.] [|"E-Prescribing." CMS. Web. 28 Oct. 2015.] [|"What is an E-Prescription?" learnabouteprescription. Web. 28 Oct. 2015.] [|"Electronic Prescribing." Medicare. Web. 28 Oct. 2015.] [|E-prescribing Graphic 1] [|E-Prescribing Graphic 2]


 * Graphics **
 * [[image:https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/e/ef/Electronic_Prescribing,_How_it_works.jpeg width="386" height="284"]][[image:http://www.scheart.com/images/uploaded/scheart/ePrescribing_101.gif width="427" height="274"]][|E-]**