Electronic Transmission of Prescriptions

This paper reflects on the evaluation of three different technical models of ETP piloted in England in 2002. ETP architectures, message sets, message content, message volume, security and privacy issues, functionality, integration with local legacy systems, and usability were examined. The authors conclude that the technical implementation may be the lesser of the problems confronting successful adoption of such systems, with the critical success factors more closely related to the ways in which ETP models are instantiated in local systems used by prescribers and pharmacists, and their consequent impact on the business practices of those users. Other barriers to successful adoption of ETP were observed, including the requirement for changes in legislation to facilitate electronic communication with digital signatures, and the need to gain patient consent to use of ETP.