E-prescribing and access to prescription medicines during lockdown: experience of patients in Aotearoa/New Zealand

Abstract

Background Health services internationally have been compelled to change their methods of service delivery in response to the global COVID-19 pandemic, to mitigate the spread of infection amongst health professionals and patients. In Aotearoa/New Zealand, widespread electronic delivery of prescriptions (e-prescribing) was enabled. The aim of the research was to explore patients’ experiences of how lockdown, changes to prescribing and the interface between general practices and community pharmacy affected access to prescription medications. Method The research employed a mixed-method approach. This included an online survey (n = 1,010) and in-depth interviews with a subset of survey respondents (n = 38) during the first COVID-19 lockdown (March–May 2020). Respondents were recruited through a snowballing approach, starting with social media and email list contacts of the research team. In keeping with the approach, descriptive statistics of survey data and thematic analysis of qualitative interview and open-ended questions in survey data were combined. Results For most respondents who received a prescription during lockdown, this was sent directly to the pharmacy. Most people picked up their medication from the pharmacy; home delivery of medication was rare (4%). Survey and interview respondents wanted e-prescribing to continue post-lockdown and described where things worked well and where they encountered delays in the process of acquiring prescription medication. Conclusions E-prescribing has the potential to improve access to prescription medication and is convenient for patients. The increase in e-prescribing during lockdown highlighted how the system could be improved, through better feedback about errors, more consistency across practices and pharmacies, more proactive communication with patients, and equitable prescribing costs.

Survey of the patients' perspectives and preferences in adopting telepharmacy versus in-person visits to the pharmacy: a feasibility study during the COVID-19 pandemic

“…The patients’ standpoint is essential in the co-design and assessment of such technologies. Research from the viewpoints of physicians and pharmacists would complement these findings and assist in revealing the reasons for the impediments experienced by patients [ 53 ].…”

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“…E-prescribing during the pandemic has been discussed. In Newzeland e-prescribing was accelerated to minimize the use of paper scripts and reduce the contact between health care providers and patients [41] in England more than 85% of primary care prescriptions were processed electronically during the pandemic [42] even televideoconsultation for patients with COVID-19 has been experienced in the pandemic in Italy [43] . In Jordan, positive attitudes towards utilization of electronic prescription was expressed by physicians in all medical fields [44] and the program "Hakeem electronic services" has been used as an electronic prescribing platforms.…”

Implementation of Computerized Physician Order Entry in Primary Care: A Scoping Review

“…In terms of patient and pharmacist satisfaction, CPOE systems reduce patient wait time, eliminate the problem of ripping or losing paper prescriptions, reduce medication or dose errors, and simplify the medication acquisition process for patients. 32 CPOE is more cost-effective than paper prescriptions because it drastically reduces the amount of paper and toner needed for prescriptions. 33 Overall, e-prescribing systems improve healthcare service quality, increase the efficiency of prescribing and delivering pharmaceuticals, and reduce prescription errors and healthcare costs.…”