Barriers to electronic prescribing of controlled substance, especially opioids

Abstract

Objective: Electronic prescriptions are now the standard of practice for all discharge and outpatient prescriptions. The intention is to increase patient safety, provide a more complete medication record for patients, lessen the burden on prescribers, and shorten the time it takes for medication orders to reach the pharmacy. Design: This cross-sectional questionnaire survey study was conducted between January and August 2022 in three areas of a large urban safety net hospital. Setting: A large single academic medical center. Participants: Emergency department, inpatient clinicians, and procedural areas. The subjects of the study were trainees, attending physicians, and advance practice providers (APPs) Interventions: Data were collected from the participants using a self-reported questionnaire, including sociodemographic characteristics, ease of use, reliability, and preference. Additionally, the perception of the strengths and limitations associated with electronic prescribing (e-prescribing) were analyzed. Main outcome measure: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the barriers to e-prescribing of opioids. Results: A total of 121 prescribers completed the survey. The majority trusted that e-prescribing were transmitted successfully (62 percent), saved time (78 percent), and did not interrupt their workflow (78 percent). However, many prescribers indicated that additional improvements are needed, such as updating the patient’s preferred pharmacy in the electronic medical record during each visit (52 percent) and having a 24-hour pharmacy readily available (66 percent). Conclusion: Prescribers value the ease of use of e-prescribing and how time efficient the process can be. Nevertheless, there is a need to improve the system’s service, design, and usefulness.