No More Excuses: Why Pharmacists Need to Take Their e-Savvy Up a Notch

While e-prescribing is not a new concept in health care, long-term care has been slow to adopt this technology, even as facilities, practitioners, and others have embraced electronic health records (EHRs). Despite the benefits of e-prescribing, including fewer adverse events and medication-related problems, issues such as lack of interoperability created barriers to widespread and effective use of this technology. However, new regulations and the growing use of EHRs in long-term care have created a new urgency for the use of e-prescribing. Many pharmacists already are taking a leadership role on this and encouraging their colleagues to follow suit.