Online prescribing compromises patient safety

The increase in automatic, online prescribing leads to patients adopting a greater role in their own care. Balancing patient demand against the safety and effectiveness of medicines presents a large challenge for the pharmacy workforce.

Proposed workforce impact

• Increase in demand for pharmacists to monitor the appropriateness of online prescriptions.

Sources or references

• http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2769896/
• http://www.who.int/patientsafety/information_centre/reports/PS019_Barber_Final_report.pdf

Additional research questions

• Is online prescribing already used in other countries? If so, how has it affected demand for pharmacists?

Some of the information in this section is provided by stakeholders and expert groups, and does not necessarily represent the views of the CfWI.