Patients' perceptions, experiences, and satisfaction with e-prescribing system: A cross-sectional study

Abstract

Introduction: Electronic prescribing (e-prescribing) systems have the potential to increase the quality of care and reduce costs. Officially, since 22 December 2021, e-prescribing has been mandated in Iran. This study aimed to investigate the patients' perceptions about the e-prescribing system.

Methods: A descriptive-analytic cross-sectional study was conducted in 2023. The study sample comprised 394 patients who were referred to the pharmacies of five teaching hospitals. The sample size was estimated using Cochran's formula. Data collection was performed using a researcher-made questionnaire. The data were analyzed using descriptive (mean, standard deviation, frequency, and percentage) and analytic (Pearson and Spearman correlation, One-way ANOVA, and two-sample t-test) statistics.

Results: About 85 % of the patients were aware of the e-prescribing system, and 70 % of them preferred the e-prescribing. Almost 57 % of the patients believed that e-prescribing did not impact their medication adherence. The mean score of patients' satisfaction with e-prescribing, patients' attitude toward e-prescribing, and the impact of e-prescribing on patient care was 3.91 ± 0.046, 3.45 ± 0.028, and 3.10 ± 0.050 out of 5, respectively. There was a significant fair correlation between the impact of e-prescribing on patient care and patients' attitude towards e-prescribing. Additionally, there was a significant but poor correlation between patient satisfaction with the impact of e-prescribing on patient care and patients' attitude toward e-prescribing (P < 0.05).

Conclusion: The majority of the patients demonstrated awareness of the e-prescribing system and expressed a preference for electronic prescribing. Patients reported overall positive satisfaction, as well as relatively positive perceptions and experiences with the evaluated e-prescribing system. From the patients' perspective, receiving the e-prescribing tracking code through SMS was the most popular method for tracking their prescriptions. A greater focus on patient engagement and considering their requirements and needs in the system are crucial to improve the delivery of patient-centered care.

Keywords: Electronic prescribing; Patient satisfaction; Prescription.