E-Prescription: A Developer’s Guide

Health software development has witnessed digitization over the recent years, and this has extended to pharmacy management and practice management. Physicians and administrative staff have realized that a lot of time and effort goes into managing medical records, double-checking prescriptions, and making sure there are no errors.

Medication errors may cause preventable injuries and side effects among hospitalized patients. Additionally, such errors can cause financial and reputational damage to medical practices, increased emergency department visits, and prolonged hospital stays.  

The introduction of electronic health records emphasized the need for electronic prescribing and implementing e-prescribing software minimized the risks associated with medical errors and patient misreading. An e-prescribing system maintains data confidentiality, adheres to HIPAA compliance, and fills panels for doctors and patients. 

Benefits of E-prescription software development 

1. Reduced prescription errors 

Did you that that 4 in 10 patient deaths are linked to taking medications incorrectly, misdiagnosed, or incorrect prescriptions? Also, illegible handwritten prescriptions can further make matters worse.

They may result in incorrect transcriptions and evoke pharmacists to reach out to doctors to find out the exact name and dosage of the medication. E-prescription software development saves all this hassle and conserves time.  

2. Automated Insurance verification 

When there are many insurance possibilities, different types of insurance can cover different medications in a pharmacy management system. E-prescribing software development helps go through the database and select the medications covered under the patients’ insurance. In this way, a prescription management system integrates healthcare automation.  

3. Instant medical reconciliation and better support 

Different hospital software development companies may release the same drug under different names, types, and dosages. E-prescribing software development solutions enhance the understanding of drug interactions, and E-prescribing software development also enables tracking of allergies and side effects.

The software healthcare development stores patients’ histories, which helps decision-making and prevents incorrect medications from being prescribed or duplicated prescription drugs.  

RELATED: E-Prescribing For Optometry Practice: How It Benefits?

4. Prescription tracking 

Around 20-30 % of prescriptions on paper are not filled, and many get misplaced or lost. Prescription tracking is essential for keeping population health management in check.

Electronic prescribing software can notify doctors through alerts or notifications. Even if prescriptions are lost, e-prescribing software development stores electronic copies of them, which can be shared with doctors or pharmacy management systems.  

5. Facilitated prescription refill 

Practitioners and physicians may end up spending too much time dealing with prescription requests and managing the pharmacy inventory system. Pharmacy software system with e-prescription fastens and automates the entire process. Patients can receive automated prescription refills and reminders through electronic prescription systems.

Integration of prescription management software 

For healthcare interoperability and highly-effective e-prescribing software to meet the needs of all stakeholders, pay attention to the following integrations and compliances with the certified systems.  

1. Electronic health record (EHR) 

Electronic medical prescription solutions must be coordinated by EHR/EMR networks, including telehealth or mHealth, to make prescription decisions based on patients’ medical histories.  

2. Clinical Decision Support (CDS) System 

This integration enables studying health informatics, which provides more accurate clinical advice, alerts on prescriptions, and improves clinical decision-making. 

3. HL7 solutions 

HL7 interface development cab is performed from scratch or integrated into the existing products with e-prescribing software. These solutions help to exchange EHRs securely. 

4. Payment services 

Payment services are essential for integrating the e-prescribing system because it promotes instant payment for the medications also prescribed if a healthcare institution works with integrated electronic prescriptions. 

Conclusion 

Healthcare systems require interoperable e-prescription systems that are scalable and serve the needs of patients and physicians. Vozo EHR offers expert e-prescription solutions with the best security practices and encryption to safeguard data management.