Hey Doc, Don't Kill Me
According to Time Magazine, sloppy handwriting kills over 7,000 people annually. Even worse, 1.5 million people are injured by the mistakes made while quickly scribbling abbreviations and dosage information on prescriptions.I'm sorry, but this is unacceptable to me.
There have been so many advances in technology that this type of behavior should not be tolerated anymore, in any part of our country. After some quick research, I was able to verify that our very own Mayo Clinic has been using an electronic prescription system which "types out" orders for several years now. I would be interested to know if Olmsted Medical Center has a similar policy.
The article goes on to discuss a new free web-based service which will allow doctors to write electronic prescriptions for free:
The National e-prescribing Patient Safety Initiative (NEPSI) will offer doctors access to eRx Now, a Web-based tool that physicians can use to write prescriptions electronically, check for potentially harmful drug interactions and ensure that pharmacies provide appropriate medications and dosages. "Thousands of people are dying, and we've been talking about this problem for ages," says Glen Tullman, CEO of Allscripts, a Chicago-based health care technology company, that initiated the project. "This is crazy. We have the technology today to prevent these errors, so why aren't we doing it?"I agree 100%. In the most technologically advanced country in the world, nobody should have to die (or be prescribed Viagra for a migraine) because Dr. Scribbly never learned to write.
Labels: cws, health, omc, technology, web2.0
posted by Alan De Keyrel @ 8:50 PM
6 comments
6 Comments:
Yes, OMC uses an automated system to send prescriptions directly to the pharmacy of your choice. No paper and no writing so you don't accidentally loose your prescription.
That's great to know.... I expected someone would confirm they had a comparable system.
OMC's system is horrible. There are a lot of errors cuz the typer does not "set" the item they choose from a pull down menu - so many drugs and dosages are incorrect when they arrive at the pharmacy. AND - it takes the fax FOREVER to arrive at the pharmacy.
Mayo does not have an electronic system to non-Mayo pharmacies. They write a rx in the usual manner, then fax the thing to the pharmacy. They are often illegible because the prescriptions are so light that they do not fax well, or they have a series of huge red stripes down them that interfers with the writing on them.
Both institutions are taking steps in the right direction, but those of us in the pharmacy business know they have a long way to go.
I am a pharmacy technician that works at Mayo. They do have an electronic prescription system for out-patient. However, what this means is you get a nice typed out prescription - it is NOT sent electronically to the pharmacy (a common misconception). Doctors can still make errors on this "electronic" prescription because they can "free-text" information. Also, you should make sure when you walk out of the doctor's office your prescription has your name on it. It happens more often than you would think where someone shows up at the pharmacy and the prescription isn't for them - sometimes the name on the prescription isn't even the right sex! That's why we ask you to verify your name - not to annoy you.
Also, I think it's very unlikely that a doctor would accidentally prescribe Viagra for a migraine because of the directions a doctor would use. Viagra has a pretty standard set of directions (take 30 minutes before anticipated sexual activity is usually always in there) plus a pharmacist would counsel the patient on it I'm sure the patient would be confused. A very big key to helping prevent medication errors (and any pharmacy person will agree) is for people to learn to be patient when at the pharmacy and allow the staff to do their job in a safe amount of time. Instead most are not patient and breathe down your neck demanding when their prescription will be ready. They scuff when you tell them 15 minutes at one of the busy parts of the day. The staff wouldn't be in such a hurry and would be less liable in missing something. It's not as simple as "counting a few pills". You'd think people would treat their pharmacy people with better dignity since after all they are dispensing your medication...
AMEN to the pharmacy tech's comments. I usually tell people they can have it fast or they can have it accurate - but not both.
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