ePrescribing
Electronic prescribing and dispensing of medicines is a key eHealth initiative aimed at improving the delivery and quality of care and achieving
better health outcomes. Electronic prescribing, which allows a medical practitioner to create a prescription electronically, which is then authenticated
via an electronic signature and transmitted securely to a pharmacy for them to dispense the medications, will remove the need for paper based scripts.
Currently electronic prescribing is operating in parallel with the existing paper prescription system in Australia through solutions such as eRx Script
Exchange (www.erx.com.au). The timing of when legislation is passed to enable the removal of paper based scripts altogether
is a hotly debated topic. The Pharmaceutical Society of Australia is strongly supporting an accelerated timetable for the implementation of e-health initiatives
such as electronic prescribing and electronic health records. This is an issue that is gaining momentum at a rapid rate and aged care providers need to be ready
for the change.
To read the complete article PSA Calls For Accelerated Implementation Of E-Health, Australia click here.
Chris Gray - Managing Director, iCare
What can you do to prepare for ePrescribing?
To get ready for the eventual move to ePrescribing, proactive aged care providers are beginning to utilise electronic medication charts, with particular
emphasis on the change management required for nursing and care staff and the pharmacy.
Electronic medication charts are now standard modules with iCare’s Clinical, Care and Medication Management Solution and allow you to move away from paper
based medication charts to an electronic version which will have the ability to link into ePresecribing systems. Once ePrescribing is enabled in Australia
via legislation, eliminating the current paper based prescription system, aged care providers and their staff will have processes bedded down internally to
connect straight into the ePrescribing system.
To enable electronic medication charts in your facility, please contact Candice Rice at iCare on 03 9652 8100 or ricec@icare.com.au
Your View -
Villa Maria Society - Graeme Wickendon, Chief Financial Officer
For Villa Maria, eHealth represents the linkage of systems across locations to give staff access to a variety of health related information, assessments,
functionality and resources. It’s effectively an enabler, providing a platform where applications can come together to provide synergistic benefits, typically
around access to resources, work practice efficiencies and quality outcomes.
eHealth should provide Villa Maria employees with greater access to the systems and resources they need to deliver a quality service. Efficient and effective
service delivery will be improved via eHealth as it facilitates improved communication across Villa Maria’s geographically diverse workforce. Through wireless-based
technology, employees providing support to the people we care for will have immediate access to the applications through which the care is administrated and
documentation held. Improved accountability and visibility are natural consequences of an enhanced information and reporting capability.
eHealth is expected to assist in further enhancing the quality of care we provide. Specifically we will be looking to eHealth enabled applications to ease the
burden of compliance through the improved capture and accessibility of information. eHealth will also provide opportunities for improved productivity, as reduced
duplication is achieved through a single point of data capture, which is then available across the organisation. We also aim to utilise eHealth tools to reduce the
social isolation some of the people we care for experience. Specifically, we look forward to an integration of healthcare processes from care delivery, medical support,
prescription needs, allied health, and particularly client engagement. Essentially eHealth must break down barriers which currently create inefficiency and impose
unnecessary costs. A better experience for those we care for at a reduced operating overhead must be eHealth’s primary deliverable.
 Pdf version for print.
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