Nowoczesne Systemy Zarządzania (Sep 2023)
E-prescription as a tool supporting the provision of services in health care entities
Abstract
E-prescription, introduced on February 16, 2018, as part of a pilot program in two cities, initially met many barriers (resistance and doubts of medical staff, incompatibility of IT systems and inappropriate computer equipment or its lack in medical offices), and is currently one of the most well-known and the most frequently used e-tools in medical services. The usage of e-prescribing was crucial during the COVID-19 pandemic, when forced isolation made contacts with medical staff difficult or even impossible. Patients, left without medical care, could use health care services to a very limited extent. Then, teleconsultations and digital prescriptions turned out to be an excellent remedy for such a problematic situation. In fact, we owe the development of many e-tools and the spread of their use to the COVID-19 pandemic. The importance of e-prescription for the system and medical service providers cannot be overestimated. Through it, the system and health care entities receive reliable and accurate information (e.g. about the number of prescribed drugs, the health condition of Polish patients, or the amount of reimbursement). An e-prescription is not only a record of what medicine the patient should take, but a set of data that, when used in an appropriate manner, can constitute a guide for the further development of medical services, preventive programs and directions of changes in the health care system. The article presents information on the implementation and use of e-prescriptions by medical staff in Poland in 2018-2022. The information contained in the article may constitute the basis for subsequent studies in Poland and abroad, for international comparative analyses, due to their timeliness and detail. The aim of the article is to present the degree of use of e-prescriptions by medical staff in health care entities. To achieve the goal, the fol-lowing research methods were used: critical analysis of literature and websites presenting digital solutions for the health care system, analysis of source materials and numerical data from the e-Health Center (CeZ).
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