Electronic Prescriptions May Lead to Improved Patient Safety

New York State law will require providers, including Albany Medical Center Hospital, to stop writing prescriptions and electronically prescribe all medications.

As New York State shifts away from paper prescriptions, electronic prescribing, or "e-prescribing," will lead to improved patient safety and a more efficient prescription process, says an Albany Medical Center physician leader.

As of March 27, 2016, New York State law will require providers, including Albany Medical Center Hospital and its outpatient offices, to stop writing prescriptions and electronically prescribe all medications, including controlled substances. Prescriptions will no longer be handwritten or called into a pharmacy, except in rare circumstances.

Use Of Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs May Reduce Painkiller Abuse
A researcher has found that the use of PMPs may have a significant impact on the demand for drug treatment programs and how prescribers detect and respond to abuse of painkillers.

‘Electronic prescribing or "e-prescribing" will lead to improved patient safety and become a more efficient prescription process.’

Albany Med began e-prescribing earlier this year. According to Patricia Hale, M.D., associate medical director of informatics at Albany Medical Center, the benefits of e-prescribing include:

- Lower risk of errors due to poor handwriting.
- Elimination of miscommunication associated with phoned-in prescriptions.
- Prescriptions cannot be lost or fall into the wrong hands.
- Computer programs flag prescriptions that may interact with a patient's other medications.
- Patient convenience as prescriptions are sent to pharmacy ahead of time.

Additionally, Dr. Hale encourages all Albany Medical Center patients to keep a prescription list of medications they take, including over-the-counter and herbal supplements, and to have that list available when they see their doctor.

Opioid Prescribing Guideline Significantly Decreases Prescription Rates
The United States is in the midst of a crisis regarding the abuse of prescription drug opioids. The opioid prescribing guideline was created to maximize safety and avoid misuse.

"Given the availability of over-the-counter medications and the fact that people often see many different doctors, when health care providers have accurate and updated information about the prescriptions and other drugs patients are taking, the better able we are to deliver safe and appropriate care," Dr. Hale said.

Albany Medical Center, northeastern New York's only academic health sciences center, is one of the largest private employers in the Capital Region. It incorporates the 734-bed Albany Medical Center Hospital, which offers the widest range of medical and surgical services in the region, and the Albany Medical College, which trains the next generation of doctors, scientists and other healthcare professionals, and also includes a biomedical research enterprise and the region's largest physicians practice with more than 450 doctors. Albany Medical Center works with dozens of community partners to improve the region's health and quality of life.

A Nudge Reduces Doctors' Unnecessary Antibiotic Prescription
A series of behavioral interventions known as nudges can change human behavior without the threat of punishment.

Source-Newswise

Opioid Overdose Study Supports Call for Caution in Prescription Levels
The difference between controlling pain and dying from an opioid overdose can be linked to how strong a prescription the doctor wrote.