Towards creating the perfect electronic prescription

Significant strides have been made in electronic (e)-prescribing standards and software applications that have further fueled the adoption and use of e-prescribing. However, for e-prescribing to realize its full potential for improving the safety, effectiveness, and efficiency of prescription drug delivery, important work remains to be carried out. This perspective describes the ultimate goal of all e-prescribing stakeholders including prescribers and dispensing pharmacists: a clear, complete, and unambiguous e-prescription order that can be seamlessly received, processed, and fulfilled at the dispensing pharmacy without the need for additional clarification from the prescriber. We discuss the challenges to creating the perfect e-prescription by focusing on selected data segments and data fields that are available in the new e-prescription transaction as defined in the NCPDP SCRIPT Standard and suggest steps that could be taken to move the industry closer to achieving this vision.