Abstract
INTRODUCTION: With the increased digitisation of the healthcare sector ePrescriptions and online pharmacies are becoming more commonly used. EPrescriptions are digitised version of paper prescriptions used by prescribers and sent to the patient’s allocated pharmacy. Online pharmacies offer patients the opportunity to communicate with a prescriber online and receive mail-order medication. This study aims to conduct a scoping review researching the perceptions of both patients and pharmacists on ePrescriptions and online pharmacies.
METHODOLOGY: This study was conducted by searching electronic databases MEDLINE and EMBASE. Strict inclusion and exclusion criteria were set before searching to synthesise relevant literature to be reviewed. The data extracted was separated by topic and displayed in a table and the results were described as a narrative synthesis.
RESULTS: In total, 17 studies were included in this scoping review, 12 of which focused on perceptions of online pharmacies and 5 focused on perceptions of ePrescriptions. A total of 7 studies focused on patient’s perception and 8 studies focused on pharmacist’s perceptions while 2 studies explored both perceptions. Online pharmacies were found to be cheaper and more convenient, however, were associated with safety risks. There is a paucity of studies exploring patient’s perceptions of ePrescriptions, however, they were found to streamline work in the dispensary and ease the transfer of prescription data.
CONCLUSION: Overall, a positive perception of ePrescriptions was concluded and a mixed perception of online pharmacies. As online pharmacies and ePrescribing evolves further research is required to understand the perception of them
METHODOLOGY: This study was conducted by searching electronic databases MEDLINE and EMBASE. Strict inclusion and exclusion criteria were set before searching to synthesise relevant literature to be reviewed. The data extracted was separated by topic and displayed in a table and the results were described as a narrative synthesis.
RESULTS: In total, 17 studies were included in this scoping review, 12 of which focused on perceptions of online pharmacies and 5 focused on perceptions of ePrescriptions. A total of 7 studies focused on patient’s perception and 8 studies focused on pharmacist’s perceptions while 2 studies explored both perceptions. Online pharmacies were found to be cheaper and more convenient, however, were associated with safety risks. There is a paucity of studies exploring patient’s perceptions of ePrescriptions, however, they were found to streamline work in the dispensary and ease the transfer of prescription data.
CONCLUSION: Overall, a positive perception of ePrescriptions was concluded and a mixed perception of online pharmacies. As online pharmacies and ePrescribing evolves further research is required to understand the perception of them
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Publication status | Published - 7 Jun 2023 |
| Event | Nordic Social Pharmacy Conference 2023 - The Arctic University of Norway, Norway Duration: 7 Jun 2023 → 9 Jun 2023 |
Conference
| Conference | Nordic Social Pharmacy Conference 2023 |
|---|---|
| Country/Territory | Norway |
| Period | 7/06/23 → 9/06/23 |
Keywords
- ePrescriptions
- online pharmacy
- mail-order medication