Abstract
The World Health Organization (WHO) promotes health systems strengthening as a means of improving population health, especially in low- and middle-income countries. The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals highlight the importance of investing in workforce development to improve population health and economic well-being. In relation to pharmaceuticals, health systems face challenges in terms of i) guaranteeing access to needed drugs, ii) rationalizing medicines use, and iii) avoiding harm from adverse events. There is a pressing need to better understand the relationships between technology and pharmacy practice when strengthening pharmaceutical care systems. In response, this paper examines ways in which harnessing new technologies can change pharmacy practice and strengthen pharmaceutical systems for the benefit of patients. The paper will present a conceptual framework as well as exploring case studies.
Highlights
Every human has the right to the healthcare they need, to interventions that enable them to live healthy (Porter, 2010)
The implementation of e-prescribing can overcome many paper-based prescription problems leading to cost savings, increased illegibility, reduced medication errors, the reduced need for redundant paperwork, and better access to the different drug information and patient medication history, eventually leading to improving therapy outcome (Varkey et al, 2007; Taylor et al, 2008; Yu et al, 2009; Devine et al, 2010)
This study showed the potential benefit of the e-prescribing system in improving patient safety through the reduction in the prescribing errors
Summary
Every human has the right to the healthcare they need, to interventions that enable them to live healthy (Porter, 2010). Technology-enabled care involves using health technology, smartphones’ applications, voice and written messages, Bluetooth technology, digital media, automated robots, remote monitoring devices, and wearable technology for effective integration of care (Ryu, 2012a) Delivering care via those new technologies changes the ways by which information and health services are delivered which leads to patient-focused healthcare and personalization. The implementation of e-prescribing can overcome many paper-based prescription problems leading to cost savings, increased illegibility, reduced medication errors, the reduced need for redundant paperwork, and better access to the different drug information and patient medication history, eventually leading to improving therapy outcome (Varkey et al, 2007; Taylor et al, 2008; Yu et al, 2009; Devine et al, 2010). Those systems had the following limitations: lack of standardization, no system for nursing, physician examination, nor radiology; the lab systems and patient databases were not connected (Khedr and Alsheref, 2014)
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