The e-prescription system is a web-based application that aims to improve the general daily recording and reporting process and provide paperless prescription to avoid or reduce adverse drug events. The paperless prescription functions have been designed and implemented to support the prescribing process, which includes: pharmaceutical information for more than 210 standard drugs, information on possible allergic reaction, overdose and drug interactions, simple dosage calculator, drug – drug interaction tests, adverse drug reactions alert, and drug inventory and reporting.
Beginning in March 2010, the system was piloted for 11 months in the Babakan Sari Community Health Center, Bandung. The center has between 80 to 200 patients per day, served by 20 to 25 healthcare providers. A total of more than 31,300 patients have been served by the health center in 11 months.
Based on the evaluation conducted after the clinical implementation, the e-health
system has significantly shown its effectiveness in the following areas:
- General patient and medicine data recording and reporting: less paper is needed
- Faster retrieval time of registered patients’ data
- More efficient report generating process: at least seven different reports can be generated in much less time
In issuing prescriptions, the e-health system provides supportive drug information and prescribing tools for doctors, but it does not affect the time needed for medical examination. Reports on adverse drug event cases were found during the first two months of the e-prescription system implementation. It was also found that the e-prescription system has made healthcare providers more careful in selecting drugs when writing a prescription.