Last winter, in less turbulent, pre-pandemic times, she was prescribed medication for a stubborn bout of illness. After finishing her appointment at a walk-in clinic — which required travel to and from the clinic, as well as time spent in the waiting room — she proceeded to the pharmacy to have it filled.
However, the pharmacist had a request for clarification. Unable to reach the prescriber via fax or telephone, they suggested she return to the clinic. After another stint in the waiting room, she received a new prescription…and made one more trip to the pharmacy before returning home, medication in hand.
Between her home, the walk-in clinic and the pharmacy, this patient made five trips for a single prescription. An inconvenience at the best of times, this back-and-forth has broader implications for patients and health outcomes. Extra travel is hardly conducive to rest and recovery, and for those who may be contagious, there is a heightened risk of disease transmission.
“Imagine if this had happened during COVID-19,” the patient told me. “I wouldn’t have wanted to travel that much, especially if I didn’t have to.”
It’s an important point. Virtual care tools have helped reduce transmission of COVID-19 by keeping patients out of crowded waiting rooms, but the same principle applies to other viruses in non-pandemic times.
As a form of virtual care, e-prescribing has the potential to make a big difference in situations like the one this patient describes. An e-prescribing service like PrescribeIT® sends prescription data directly from the prescriber’s electronic medical record (EMR) to the pharmacy management system (PMS) — which means that patients don’t need to carry paper prescriptions between their provider and pharmacist. Moreover, integrated clinical communications, a form of secure messaging, allows prescribers and pharmacists to seamlessly message each other, eliminating the need for faxes, phone calls — or additional in-person encounters.
While pharmacists and prescribers see the impacts of PrescribeIT® directly, patients benefit as well: by saving time, reducing travel and protecting their health. Through better health outcomes and an improved patient experience, e-prescribing and virtual care can support all parts of a patient’s health journey: through the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.
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