The Ethical Considerations of E-Prescribing

Ethical thoughts in testing are a set of principles that lead your research designs and practices. Scientists and researchers must always obey a certain code of conduct when collecting data from people.nnElectronic prescribing (e-prescribing) is an important part of the United States’ efforts to improve the safety and quality of the prescribing process. E-prescribing is explained as the electronic generation, transmission, and filling of a prescription on a computer that replaces paper and telefax prescriptions.n

What is E-Prescribing?

nE-prescription is the capability of the prescriber to electronically send an appropriate, error-free, and understandable prescription directly to the pharmacy from the point of care and is an important feature in improving the quality of patient care. The adoption of standards to facilitate electronic prescribing is one of the key steps in the federal government’s plan to accelerate the adoption of electronic medical records and generate a national electronic health information framework in the United States.n

Ethical Consideration of E-Prescribing

nThe World Health Organization proposed a multi-step detain to prescribing that can help providers’ better goal treatment plans. The guidelines were generated in 2007 and are still valid today.n

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•       Assess and define the patient’s problem.

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•       Determine the therapeutic goal of pharmacotherapy.

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•       Choose the right medicine.

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•       Provide information, warnings, and instructions to patients.

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•       Monitor the patient regularly.

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•       Examine the cost of medications when prescribing.

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nUse appropriate gadgets such as prescribing software and electronic drug references to lessen prescribing errors. A major element of ethical prescribing is examining each patient’s individual needs and situation. Some ethical challenges from past decades are immobile present for clinicians today.n

Ethical Consideration When Prescribing Friends and Family:

nCounsellor’s, like many physicians, may have difficulty balancing their wish to be helpful with the requirement to balance appropriate boundaries and quality discussion of practice. It is especially challenging to respond to requests from friends and family to solve health problems or write prescriptions. Regardless of whether the problem falls within our purview, it can be difficult to resist the urge to do the medical thing with people who are not our patients. After discussing the applicable legal standards.n

Prescribing Pain Medications:

nOpioids were once a cornerstone of treatment for chronic and disabling pain. Now they have created an epidemic of drug addiction that claims the lives of 115 people every day in the United States. In many cases, opioid use leads to the use of heroin, fentanyl, and other narcotics.nnState and federal agencies are trying to curb opioid use by setting prescription limits. Doctors are urged to prescribe with caution.nnThe Nurse Practitioner Healthcare Foundation has stated that clinical management of pain in chronic care requires four elements:n

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•       Comprehensive assessment of pain and past efforts to treat pain.

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•       Investigating a wide range of treatment options other than opioids.

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•       Ongoing patient education about associated risks.

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•       Vigilant follow-up measures to mitigate potential substance abuse.

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nAlso Read:n

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• Types of Telemedicine

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• Impact of e-prescribing on patient safety

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Prescribing for the Elderly:

nA large number of older people take multiple medications to treat various chronic conditions that develop with age. Most of these treatments involve managing symptoms and preventing symptoms that are likely to occur in untreated conditions. Serious care should be taken when prescribing to elderly patients. These include: enabling older people and their families to be involved in their treatment; social support; and consideration of costs and benefits. There is a lack of clear therapeutic prescribing recommendations for this group of people, which is influenced by factors such as quality of life and life expectancy.n

Benefits of Ethical Consideration of E-Prescribing

nCompanies that design and sell electronic prescription management software are quick to list the benefits of their system. These benefits of e-prescribing can include:n

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•       They are easy and quick to use for healthcare professionals.

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•       The systems track the prescribing of controlled substances.

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•       Patient privacy and security are touted as the primary goals of software systems.

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•       There is less potential for errors due to pharmacists misreading handwritten prescriptions.

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•       It’s easier for doctors and pharmacies to track drug allergies, so reactions and interactions are less likely.

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•       Prescriptions arrive before the patient gets to the pharmacy, so they can be filled before the patient arrives.

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•       Automatic refilling can also be used, which saves time for both the doctor and the patient.

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•       They are safer for patients because errors with dosing and instructions are less likely to occur.

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•       They offer a digital record of the patient’s prescriptions.

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•       There is more confidence on the part of pharmacists that the instructions and dosage are correct.

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•       It saves time for pharmacists because it is not necessary to contact the doctor to clarify the prescription.

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Why is E-Prescribing Important?

nPrescriptions are most often written and filled in outpatient centers: doctor’s offices, clinics, urgent care, or ambulatory surgical center. The doctor is not present when the prescription is filled or when the patient uses the prescription.nnElectronic prescriptions are entered by the general practitioner directly into their computer system, digitally signed, and sent electronically to the pharmacy for filling. This process can reduce errors and streamline the prescribing process. Writing, submitting, and filling prescriptions can be done faster and with fewer errors. Pharmacists have all the information they need on a computer screen and are not dependent on a piece of paper carried by a patient with medical handwriting when deciphering it.n

Conclusion

nElectronic prescribing is a method that healthcare suppliers use to send prescriptions to a patient’s favored pharmacy. Electronic prescribing has many benefits, including streamlining the process of delivering a prescription to the pharmacy, dispensing medications, and obtaining refills.nnElectronic prescribing provides instant information on allergies, drug interactions, and duplicate therapies to provide healthcare professionals with the data and actionable information needed to ensure patients are receiving the correct medications. Electronic prescriptions also contain system warnings that inform healthcare professionals of potential drug interactions and double therapies.nnMedical software now plays a key role in the healthcare industry. At first, medical software was simply seen as a way to digitize a patient’s medical chart and record. Since then, medical software has been involved to handle the exponential increase in the amount of data that modern healthcare providers want to access.