Question

Health informatics

Describe various functionalities of pharmacy information systems that can aid in reducing medication errors. Please help me write a 1.5- page paper

Answer 1

Medication error is one of the growing concerns for the health care facilities across the globe. According to the studies, in the United States approximately 1.5 million patients are affected by the medication errors. Medication errors are very costly for the patients, their families, as well as the health care facilities. Due to this reason, prevention and reduction of medication errors have become one of the significant priorities for the countries across the globe. Pharmacy information systems can play a crucial role in reducing the medication errors up to significant extent.

Pharmacy information systems like Electronic Health Record, Radio Frequency Identification, Computerized Decision support system, and Computerized prescription order entry are some of the crucial systems that can help in aiding the reduction in medication errors.

These pharmacy information systems perform different types of functionalities. For example, computerized prescription order entry (CPOE) system helps in reducing the errors in prescriptions. It provides a standardized medication order which reduces the verbal orders and prescription of unsuitable medicines. Computerized Decision support systems also helps in reducing the prescribing errors along with the CPOE. Besides, it helps in prescribing the dose, duration, frequency, allergies as well as side effects of medications. Pharmacy dispensing systems helps in mitigating the dispensing errors in hospitals.

In addition to the above, there are new information systems like mobile clinical assistants and PICSs which help in providing e-prescription to the patients. Personal digital assistant integrated with the CPOE systems help in providing necessary information to the pharmacists for counselling the patients as well as prescribing and providing medications.