General practitioners' attitudes towards electronic prescribing and the use of the national prescription centre

What is it about?

A survey about general practitioners’ (GP) experience of an electronic prescription (e-prescription) system and the use of a national prescription centre. E-prescribing had influenced GP work and their management of patients’ medication positively. Electronic health records and e-prescribing increased GPs’ flexibility at work. There was a notable improvement in the management of prescription of narcotics with the introduction of e-prescribing. Issues with the e-prescribing system software delayed data processing and produced negative experience as users were forced to browse through too many pages to write a prescription.

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Why is it important?

E-prescriptions not only reinforce the process of writing, transmitting and checking the authenticity of prescriptions but also make it mandatory for all key prescription information to be present for transmission. The perceived usefulness of e-prescribing by GPs could lead to the more widespread adoption of the technology. Making e-prescribing more user friendly requires reforming work processes, which in turn would enhance the effectiveness of GP work.