Doctors' prescriptions go electronic
May 13, 2009
Comments on this story
(3)
STAR STAFF
Doctors' hand-written, sometimes barely legible prescriptions will be replaced by electronic versions throughout the province by 2012, the government says.
Pilot programs have been established in the Collingwood area and Sault Ste. Marie, but the technology will soon make its way to all doctors' offices.
Prescriptions that are electronically generated, signed and transmitted from doctors to pharmacists should greatly reduce errors, said Dr. Alan Hudson, chair of the eHealth Ontario board.
About 400,000 preventable reactions to medication – and 4,000 deaths – occur in Ontario annually.
Toronto Star
Featured Sponsored Listings