ePrescribing Pilot Project (eHealth Ontario)
What is ePrescribing?
a process by which an prescription (Rx) is electronically generated, authorized and transmitted from a prescriber (i.e physician) to a dispenser (pharmacist). It is a tool that improves patient safety and quality of a care for a patient and potentially reduces the chance for errors when written and dispensing a Rx.
What is NOT a ePrescription?
- An Rx that is generated by an electronic health record (EHR) printed, signed and then physically given to a patient or faxed to a pharmacy
- An written Rx that is signed, scanned and then electronically transmitted to a pharmacy
ePrescribing Pilot Project
The ePrescribing pilot project which launched in May of 2009 and was the first of it's kind in Canada. This project was the stepping to the transition of "paperless" Rx's in the healthcare system and would further help improve access to Rx's and dispensing information for all health care professionals in Ontario. The ePrescribing pilot project was also developed to reduced the amount of adverse drug reactions and hospitalization related to ineligible Rx's and was an important part to eHealth Ontario’s Medication Management System (MMS) strategy. Overall, the experiences and lessons learned through seeing the impact of ePrescribing on physicians, pharmacists and patients in this project will help prepare us for a province-wide roll-out of the ePrescribing system.
With a partnership with the government, eHealth Ontario was able to make this project a reality and 2 primary care practices sites were selected to participate in the project:
With a partnership with the government, eHealth Ontario was able to make this project a reality and 2 primary care practices sites were selected to participate in the project:
2 Primary care sites selected
The Group Health Centre (Sault Ste. Marie)
16 general practitioners, 5 specialists and 7 nurse practitioners
22 pharmacies
Georgian Bay Family Health Team (Collingwood area)
4 general practitioners and 4 nurse practitioners
17 pharmacies in the area of Collingwood, Wasaga Beach, The Blue Mountains, and Clearview
4 general practitioners and 4 nurse practitioners
17 pharmacies in the area of Collingwood, Wasaga Beach, The Blue Mountains, and Clearview
Key Findings to Date
Strengths
Areas of Improvement
- Sharing of clinical information electronically was important and this enhanced the quality, relevance and clinical relevance of inter-professional collaborations
- Having a secure messaging system within the system was success of the pilots
- Participation was strong from patients
- Physicians and Nurse Practitioners liked ePrescribing
- The pilot project allowed for an enhanced role for the pharmacist. This is expected to be explored further (example: medication reconciliation, pharmaceutical opinion program)
Areas of Improvement
- A lack of technology integration with the pharmacy system was a significant issue for pharmacies
- Patients still require education on managing expectations in regards to wait times at their pharmacy
- Adoption ePrescribing into their practice may vary among user who may or may not have access to the EMR technology
ePrescribing Demo Video
References
1. Canada’s First ePrescribing Program Launches in Ontario - eHealth Ontario. Available at: http://www.ehealthontario.on.ca/en/news/view/canadas-first-eprescribing-program-launches-in-ontario. Accessed: June 11th, 2013.
2. eHealth Ontario. “Summary of ePrescribing Demonstration Project”. eHealth Ontario, Toronto. June 7th, 2013. Internal presentation
3. "Canada’s first ePrescribing project underway in two Ontario practices".Dialogue.September 2009. 25-27
Images:
http://www.salzburgresearch.at/en/themen/ehealth_en/
http://www.limabeans.ca/2011/02/financial-update/picture-sault_ste_marie/
http://www.collingwood.ca/node/6008
Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8pVy1y0ng4
1. Canada’s First ePrescribing Program Launches in Ontario - eHealth Ontario. Available at: http://www.ehealthontario.on.ca/en/news/view/canadas-first-eprescribing-program-launches-in-ontario. Accessed: June 11th, 2013.
2. eHealth Ontario. “Summary of ePrescribing Demonstration Project”. eHealth Ontario, Toronto. June 7th, 2013. Internal presentation
3. "Canada’s first ePrescribing project underway in two Ontario practices".Dialogue.September 2009. 25-27
Images:
http://www.salzburgresearch.at/en/themen/ehealth_en/
http://www.limabeans.ca/2011/02/financial-update/picture-sault_ste_marie/
http://www.collingwood.ca/node/6008
Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8pVy1y0ng4