JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Increased use of pharmaceuticals challenges both capacity and safety related to 1) medication management for patients and 2) changes in how General Practitioners and other health personnel interact with and follow-up of patients. E-prescribing of multidose dispensed drugs (eMDD) is one of the national measures that are being tested in Norway.

Objective:

The objective of this study was to reveal GPs´ experiences with the challenges and benefits of implementing eMDD in Norway.

Methods:

Qualitative in-depth interviews were conducted with a total of 25 GPs between 2018 and 2020. We used NVivo to conduct a step-by-step content analysis of audio files and transcribed text.

Results:

The study revealed that e-prescribing of MDD offers many benefits. At the same time, there are a number of challenges related to information, training and initiation, as well as to the responsibility for the medication, interactions and the risk of incorrect medication. An important activity in the start-up phase was an information meeting with pharmacies and technology suppliers, as well exchanging information and instructions with pharmacies on how to get started. The results are presented in four emergent analytic themes: 1) expectations, information and start-up with eMDD, 2) experiences with and need for training, 3) interaction—coordination of lists, security and efficiency, and 4) the working day with eMDD.

Conclusions:

There is a variety in different GPs needs regarding training and information and considerable variation in competence and motivation related to the use of digital tools. There were also different degrees of understanding concerning the everyday work of the other actors in the medication chain. Especially the harmonization of medication lists related to both use of time, expenditures and challenges with technological solutions the introduction phase was emphasized as a challenge.