Electronic Prescribing System and electronic health record priorities for antimicrobial stewardship

Abstract

Rationale, aims, and objectives: This study provided a platform for electronic prescribing design features that may facilitate antimicrobial stewardship. This study aimed to identify software features within electronic prescribing systems and to assign priorities to these software features according to the opinions of the infection specialist health care professionals. Also, to identify any differences in priorities according to a professional group and experience in using electronic prescribing and communicate research findings to policy-makers and electronic prescribing manufacturers. Methods: The study was conducted in a large (600-bed) governmental tertiary and teaching hospital in Amman, Jordan. The survey was delivered by hand to antimicrobial prescribers (internists, surgeons, paediatricians, infectious diseases specialists, and critical care specialists) and non-prescribers (medical interns, clinical pharmacists, nurses, and other allied health care professionals) who filled out the survey face to face. The delivery of the survey started on March 15, 2020, and was closed on April 7, 2020. Results: Responses were received from 210 individuals. Interns represented more than one-third of respondents (n= 79, 37.6%), with 15.7% were internal medicine physicians. Among the healthcare professionals, around 44.7% (n= 94) are considered prescribers to antimicrobials, while others are considered non-prescribers (n= 116, 55.2%). The majority of respondents (n= 205, 97.6%) reported using an electronic prescribing and electronic health record system for part or all in their hospital, with 35.7% (n= 75) of them reported using these systems for more than one year. The prompt prescribing feature having the highest assigned priority was the allergy checker (n= 193, 91.9%) followed by the dose checker (n= 192, 91.4%). Conclusion: This study demonstrates the first attempt to describe views of healthcare professionals in Jordan about the potential significance of prescribing prompt and active prescription surveillance software features on clinical, microbiological and process outcomes to support antimicrobial stewardship. Findings from this study reveal considerable demand for additional software features expressed by the healthcare professionals charged with promoting rational use of antimicrobials and a consensus of anticipated positive impact on patient safety and efficiency outcomes.