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OBJECTIVE: To explore the benefits and challenges of electronic prescribing (e-prescribing) for general practitioners (GPs) and pharmacists in regional New South Wales (NSW). METHODS: This qualitative study utilised semistructured interviews conducted virtually or in-person between July and September 2021. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: General practitioners and pharmacists practising in Bathurst NSW. MAIN OUTCOMES: Self-reported perceived and experienced benefits and challenges of e-prescribing. RESULTS: Two GPs and four pharmacists participated in the study. Reported benefits of e-prescribing included improvement in the prescribing and dispensing process, patient adherence, and prescription safety and security. The increased convenience for the patients was appreciated particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. Challenges discussed were how the system was perceived to be unsafe and insecure, costs of messaging and updating general practice software, utilisation of new systems and patient awareness. Pharmacists reported the need for education to patients and staff to minimise the impact of inexperience with the novel technology on workflow efficacy. CONCLUSION: This study provided first insight and information on the perspectives of GPs and pharmacists 12 months after the implementation of e-prescribing. Further nationwide studies are required to consolidate these findings; provide comparisons with the system's progress since conception; determine whether metropolitan and rural health care professionals share similar perspectives; and shed light on where additional government support may be required.
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Measures to control the spread of COVID-19 infections, such as restrictions on movement, social distancing regulations, lockdowns, and curfews, are being applied intermittently around the globe. The application of these control measures has had far-reaching effects on the health of patients with Substance Use Disorder and how services and treatment are being provided to them. In the first part of this chapter, we focus on the health and contextual effects of COVID-19 on people with Substance Use Disorder. We then present current evidence of the effects of COVID-19 on Substance Use Disorder treatment services and providers. Studies from around the globe suggest that COVID-19 has increased the vulnerability and stigma toward people who use drugs and substantially decreased their ability to access needed treatment. The second part of this chapter discusses future models for service provision and their possible benefit to Substance Use Disorder patients, emphasizing the use of telemedicine, e-prescribing, dosing flexibility, take-home medicine, and reach-out initiatives. We suggest that models of care based on remote patient management might benefit some patients, but their universal adoption with insufficient evidence could be detrimental to others needing closer clinical supervision. Using hybrid models, incorporating both person-to-person and remote treatment delivery, changing reimbursement schemes, and using new technologies may increase the benefits of remote patient care. © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022.
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Digital technology is becoming increasingly common in routine nursing practice. The adoption of digital technologies such as video calling, and other digital communication, has been hastened by the recent COVID-19 pandemic. Use of these technologies has the potential to revolutionise nursing practice, leading to potentially more accurate patient assessment, monitoring processes and improved safety in clinical areas. This article outlines key concepts related to the digitalisation of health care and the implications for nursing practice. The aim of this article is to encourage nurses to consider the implications, opportunities and challenges associated with the move towards digitalisation and advances in technology. Specifically, this means understanding key digital developments and innovations associated with healthcare provision and appreciating the implications of digitalisation for the future of nursing practice.
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COVID-19 , Humans , Pandemics , Delivery of Health Care , CommunicationABSTRACT
As a result of the global COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent national lockdown, general practices tried to limit unnecessary footfall into surgeries during this period. This paper aims to investigate how General Practice (GP) prescribing changed following the first COVID-19 lockdown by analysing open-source General Practice prescribing data in England and Northern Ireland. Prescribing data was obtained for the calendar years 2019 and 2020 at British National Formulary (BNF) chapter and section levels, aggregated and compared year on year and with each other. Particular attention was given to the change in prescribing between February and March of both years to examine the change in prescribing immediately following the start of the lockdown. Prescribing markedly increased across BNF categories in March 2020 followed by a dip and return to pre-COVID-19 levels in late summer. The rise in the number of items prescribed in England between February and March 2020 was nearly twice that seen in the same period the previous year (14.5% vs 7.6%). Northern Ireland saw a much greater relative increase of 20.7. The “peak, trough and recovery” pattern observed across BNF chapters reflected patients obtaining bigger stocks of prescriptions pre-lockdown. The higher Northern Ireland peak may be part-explained by lack of electronic transfer to pharmacies which exists in England. Increased antimicrobial prescribing, which spiked in March 2020, may relate to issuing “rescue packs” at the outset of the pandemic, with the sustained decline in the following months a possible effect of Covid measures and reduced consulting. © 2021 IEEE
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The present paper critically investigates the rise of e-prescribing socio-tech-med micronetworks of health care in Northern Italy and the role of innovative caregivers. Based on semi-structured one-to-one discursive interviews, this study's results show that e-prescribing innovative practices modify four domains: 1) introduce techno-care fluctuating dynamics, 2) modify spaces and time barriers to care, c) build socio-tech-med micro-networked connections, and d) create innovative "technological" carers. The interdigital carer may support distinctive forms of techno-based senior care in Italy, diffuse e-prescribing culture, and transmediate health objects and services. Careful planning and human-tailored decisionmaking are necessary to normalize e-prescribing socio-tech-med practices and avoid digital health inequalities in pandemic and post-pandemic scenarios. © 2021 Franco Angeli Edizioni. All rights reserved.