Electronic prescribing or e-prescribing (EP) is a computer-based electronic generation and transmission of a prescription. EP systems help to increase patient safety and increases prescribing accuracy, the system also helps to reduce costs through improved legibility. The motivation for e-prescribing is greater safety of drug use and the current unacceptable levels of adverse drug events. The aim of this study is to evaluate the readiness of hospitals in Nigeria to adopt E-Prescription system for patient welfare and improved healthcare service delivery.
This paper presented survey results of electronic prescription readiness in Nigeria hospitals. The survey was conducted in Nigeria hospitals, which includes Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), University of Lagos Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Federal Medical Center (FMC Abeokuta) and The Neuropsychiatric hospital, Aro, Abeokuta. A well-structured questionnaire was also developed and was given out to doctors, pharmacists, pharmacy technicians and assistants present at the time of survey administration. Data analysis was performed using MATLAB and SPSS for analyzing of closed-ended questions, descriptive statistics, chi-square test and correlation co-efficient.
From the result of the analysis, it shows that e-prescription system implementation is economically feasible on the side of an individual but on government side adequate funding for the achievement of EP system does not provide for the health sector to acquire the necessary resource and training skills.
Table of Contents
1.1 Background of study
1.2 Statement of problem
1.3 Motivation
1.4 Aim
1.5 Objectives
1.6 Methodology
1.7 Significance of study
1.8 Scope
2.1 Introduction
2.2 E-prescribing
2.2.1 E-prescription and paper prescription system
2.2.2 Issues of paper prescription
2.2.3 Types of an e-prescribing system
2.2.4 Standards for e-prescribing systems
2.3 Benefit of e-prescription
2.4 How e-prescribing works
2.5 Limitations to e-prescribing adoption
2.6 Tele-pharmacy
2.7 Review of related work
2.8Conclusion
3.1 Introduction
3.2 Survey development
3.3 Survey implementation
3.4 Data collection instrument
3.5 Matlab overview
3.6 The matlab language
3.7 Data analysis
4.1 Introduction
4.2 Frequency distribution table of demographic
4.3 Respondents
4.4 Economic feasibility
4.5 Technical feasibility
4.6 Organizational feasibility
5.1 Conclusion
5.2 Recommendation
Research Objectives & Core Themes
The primary aim of this research is to evaluate the readiness of selected hospitals in Nigeria to implement electronic prescribing (e-prescribing) systems to enhance patient welfare and healthcare service delivery, specifically addressing the errors associated with manual, handwritten prescriptions.
- Economic feasibility of adopting e-prescribing systems in Nigeria.
- Technical infrastructure and organizational readiness within hospitals.
- Identification of barriers and challenges to e-prescribing adoption.
- Assessment of user (doctors, pharmacists, nurses) satisfaction and acceptance levels.
- The impact of government support and infrastructure on system implementation.
Excerpt from the Book
2.2.2 Issues of paper prescription
Today most medical prescriptions are typically handwritten or printed on paper and hand-delivered to pharmacists. Paper-based medical prescription has generated and still generating major concerns as the incidences of prescription errors have been increasing and causing problems to patients, including deaths. Though paper prescription system has been in existence for years, it is easily influenced for different types of errors at each step in the process. These errors are the result of difficulties such as
I. Lack of medical information integrity and sharing
II. Drug cross-reactivity and complications
III. Incorrect or inadequate physicians knowledge about the new medications
IV. Slow prescription ordering and dispensing process
V. Security and privacy issues
VI. Lack of standardization of technologies and protocols used
VII. Administrative and organizational issues such as pharmaceutical benefits and billing process.
Fatal health problems can arise due to bad and illegible written prescriptions, errors in dosage and unanticipated drug interactions, communication errors committed during ordering, dispensing and administering of drugs, and dosing mistakes such as incorrect dose of drug and incorrect frequency of drug intake, and lack of reliable health information. Most of these errors of paper prescription system could be reduced by electronic prescription. Though e-prescription is simple and straightforward, it has not yet been widely adopted.
Summary of Chapters
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION: This chapter outlines the motivation for the study, focusing on the reduction of medication errors through e-prescribing and establishing the research aim and objectives.
CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW: This section provides a conceptual overview of e-prescribing, discusses its benefits and limitations, and reviews related work on its adoption in various healthcare settings globally.
CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY: This chapter describes the research design, including the survey development, data collection instruments, and the use of MATLAB/SPSS for non-parametric statistical analysis.
CHAPTER FOUR: ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF RESULT: This section presents the empirical findings gathered from the questionnaires, detailing the demographic profiles of respondents and the feasibility assessments.
CHAPTER FIVE: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION: The final chapter concludes the study by summarizing the feasibility results and offers recommendations for future research and implementation strategies.
Keywords
Electronic Prescription, E-prescribing, Patient Safety, Medication Errors, Healthcare Service Delivery, Hospital Readiness, Economic Feasibility, Technical Feasibility, Organizational Feasibility, Nigeria Hospitals, Information Technology, Healthcare Management, Adoption Barriers, Digital Health, Prescription Accuracy
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core focus of this research?
The research focuses on assessing the readiness of hospitals in Nigeria for the transition from manual, paper-based prescription systems to electronic prescribing systems.
What are the central topics addressed?
The central topics include the potential reduction of medication errors, the economic benefits, technical challenges, and the organizational and cultural readiness of healthcare staff to adopt new technologies.
What is the primary objective of this study?
The primary aim is to evaluate whether hospitals are technically, economically, and organizationally prepared to implement e-prescribing to improve patient safety and service efficiency.
Which scientific methods were employed?
The study utilized a cross-sectional survey method, distributing self-administered questionnaires to doctors, pharmacists, and nurses, followed by data analysis using descriptive statistics, chi-square tests, and correlation coefficients.
What is covered in the main body of the work?
The main body covers a comprehensive literature review, the methodological framework, the detailed analysis of survey results regarding feasibility, and a discussion of the challenges facing implementation in the Nigerian health sector.
What are the defining keywords for this paper?
Key terms include e-prescribing, patient safety, healthcare readiness, medication errors, and information technology in healthcare.
What is the conclusion regarding economic feasibility?
The results show that while individual implementation is viewed as economically feasible, the current level of government funding is insufficient to provide the necessary resources and training for the health sector.
What role does the government play according to the findings?
The findings indicate that the government-hospital relationship is currently poor, with a significant lack of government response to hospital needs, which hinders the successful adoption of new technologies.
- Citation du texte
- Adebayo Omotosho (Auteur), Kazir Olanrewaju Ganiu (Auteur), Tosin Adewunmi Ogunkoyode (Auteur), 2013, A survey of e-prescription readiness in selected Nigeria hospitals, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/231538
