Assessing the Readiness of Healthcare Providers to Use Electronic Prescribing Software

Electronic prescription (E-prescribing) has emerged as an important strategy to reduce medication errors, improve the quality of patient care, and create savings in healthcare costs. The basic documentation functions of e-prescribing systems have the potential to increase patient safety and reduce costs through improved legibility since the misinterpretation of poorly handwritten prescriptions is the most frequently identified cause of medication errors. This study aims to assess the readiness of hospitals in the city of Benghazi, Libya, to adopt the e-prescription system. Data were collected through a self-constructed questionnaire, which is filled out by healthcare providers (n=60) from different departments in the Libyan International Hospital to assess their readiness to adopt an e-prescription system. The statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) program was used to analyze the findings. Data presented as mean, and bar charts. Data analysis showed that most of the participants accept to use of the e-prescription systems. Besides, participants believe that they were able to provide patients with better services by saving time and effort and reducing medical errors.