Electronic Drug Records Will Save Millions, Says Study
The new electronic Canadian drugs information system will save up to four hundred and thirty six million in just one year, according to a new study released by the company tasked with the job of digitizing the country’s health system.
Canada Health Infoway, a not for profit organization which has been given the mandate to standardize all Canadian drug information systems and electronic health records across the country, says that the electronic Canada drug records will enable doctors, nurses and pharmacists to view the medical records of their patients and help to prevent cases of potentially harmful medicinal interactions.
“By providing health care professionals with the information they need to support their clinical decisions, drug information systems are improving medication safety and effectiveness,” says the president of the Canadian Pharmacists Association, Ruth Ackerman.
Canada Health Infoway says that the savings will be created in a number of ways, thirty percent of which – the biggest individual saving – will come due to increased productivity when it comes to filling out prescriptions, but that other, smaller savings, such as improving Canada drug cost management and fewer adverse reactions to medication, will ultimately all add up.
Dr. Jennifer Zelmer, Infoway’s vice president of clinical adoption and innovation, says that the ultimate goal is to save Canada’s health care system a total of almost two and a half billion dollars each and every year after the information systems become fully operational across the country in 2011.
|
