JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

The transition from traditional handwritten prescriptions to digital prescribing systems represents a significant advancement, with the potential to enhance treatment efficacy, patient safety, and professional communication.

Objective:

This study examines the impact of this transition within a medical oncology service, assessing the compliance of digital prescriptions with established good practice standards and exploring the associated risks.

Methods:

In this retrospective analysis, we compared handwritten prescriptions from the pre-digital era (January-May 2018) with digital prescriptions (January-May 2021) following the implementation of the electronic prescribing system PandaLab Pro®. The inclusion criteria focused on outpatient oncology treatments, with a clear set of exclusion parameters to ensure a focused study scope. The prescription software was introduced to facilitate prescription uniformity through pre-filled templates, enhancing time efficiency and reproducibility

Results:

Our findings, based on a sample size of 260 prescriptions (randomized among 30526 archived prescriptions), indicate a substantial improvement in digital prescriptions' compliance with prescribers and patient details, treatment accuracy, and overall adherence to regulatory standards. Notably, digital formats achieved a remarkable 80.8% accuracy rate in compliance with safety criteria compared with 8.5% for handwritten prescriptions (p<.001). The use of pre-filled prescriptions significantly increased compliance from a safety perspective (56% vs. 96.2%; p<.001) compared to digital prescriptions from scratch.

Conclusions:

The analysis further underscores the advantages of pre-filled digital prescription templates, which significantly improved compliance rates compared with manually filled digital and handwritten prescriptions. Moreover, the study revealed a marked shift in prescribing behaviors, with digital prescriptions tending to be more concise yet more numerous, suggesting an impact on medication management and patient adherence, which warrants further investigation. The study supports the transition to digital prescribing systems in oncology, highlighting enhanced traceability, compliance with health authority standards, and patient safety. The implementation of pre-filled templates supported by pharmacists has emerged as a pivotal factor in this improved process. While acknowledging certain limitations, such as the non-quantitative assessment of time savings and acceptability, this research advocates for the widespread adoption of digital prescriptions and serves as a benchmark for future e-prescription initiatives in France. Clinical Trial: Retrospective study (trial registration waived)