Aged Care Scenario

Mr Egan is a resident in a Residential Aged Care Facility that has been equipped with software enabling the electronic transfer of prescriptions. As part of this system, Mr Egan's GP also has access to electronic decision support regarding the medicines prescribed. This alerts the GP to any potential adverse reactions between the multiple medications that may be prescribed. Since the introduction of the software, Mr Egan is no longer required to travel from his residence to the pharmacy to collect his prescription medications, nor is he required to send a paper prescription with a resident carer. His prescriptions are sent electronically to the pharmacy, reducing possible errors caused by misreading handwriting or re-keying of information. Mr Egan's carers and nurses also have real-time access to the status of his prescriptions, ensuring that they are aware of which medications have been rendered or dispatched.

I can definately see the value to my patients who are frail or who don't have a great support network.