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The healthcare sector should phase out paper prescriptions sooner rather than later, but be prepared for patient reactions in the transition to e-prescribing, said the Chair of the SHPA鈥檚 Electronic Medications Management Leadership Committee, James Grant.

Grant鈥檚 comments come after the federal government鈥檚 $15.3 million pledge to into doctors鈥� existing clinical software and the recent passing of Commonwealth legislation, setting states and territories up to to their paper counterparts.

鈥淎t present e-scripts aren鈥檛 mandatory, but as long as the sector remains beholden to archaic practices, it will be constrained and won鈥檛 realise its full economic or health benefit potential,鈥� he told 黑料吃瓜群网 + Healthcare.

鈥淎t an individual level, the benefits of e-prescribing may seem trivial. But at an organisational or national level, they are staggering. We are talking multimillion-dollar savings, significantly improved clinical workflows and better patient outcomes.

鈥淟ike any form of health digitisation there will naturally be concerns over cybersecurity 鈥� or general technophobic resistance 鈥� but it鈥檚 important the sector sees this as just a challenge and not an outright barrier,鈥� he said.

The United Kingdom recently abolished its paper script system and is expected to . Meanwhile, the United Arab Emirates is well into its transition, which began in 2018.

Grant said that, in addition to our global peers, health care should strive to keep pace with other sectors, which are more 鈥渂razen鈥� in their approach to digitisation, whilst being mindful of the impact to direct patient care.

鈥淔rom a digital transformation perspective, it鈥檚 no secret that health care is lagging behind other industries; yet the need for digital streamlining is more pronounced in this sector than nearly any other,鈥� he said. 鈥淲hen health outcomes are at stake, there is always a greater urgency to embrace opportunities for digital enhancement.鈥�

Grant believes the greatest hesitation over e-prescribing may come from aged-care recipients but that, paradoxically, they will be one of the primary beneficiaries of the new system.

In propagating the transition, he sees the role of prescribing doctors as vital.

鈥淓-prescription exchange servers aren鈥檛 the sexiest topic in the world,鈥� he admitted. 鈥淎nd so, it might be the case that some patients are simply not aware of the option of an e-script in the months and years to come. Plus, there will always be that cohort of end users that needs more convincing,鈥� he said.

鈥淭here鈥檚 work to do, but once the transition is made, as a sector, we won鈥檛 look back. I see it as no different to the arrival of smart phones or satellite navigation systems. Even the greatest technophobes now own one and can鈥檛 imagine life without it,鈥� he concluded.

Image credit:聽漏stock.adobe.com.au/Blue Planet Studio