[Computer-aided prescribing: from utopia to reality].
OBJECTIVE
To determine whether the introduction of computer-aided prescribing helped reduce the administrative burden at primary care centers.


METHODS
Descriptive, cross-sectional design.


METHODS
Torreblanca Health Center in the province of Seville, southern Spain. From 29 October 2003 to the present a pilot project involving nine pharmacies in the basic health zone served by this health center has been running to evaluate computer-aided prescribing (the Receta XXI project) with real patients.


METHODS
All patients on the center's list of patients who came to the center for an administrative consultation to renew prescriptions for medications or supplies for long-term treatment.


METHODS
Total number of administrative visits per patient for patients who came to the center to renew prescriptions for long-term treatment, as recorded by the Diraya system (Historia Clinica Digital del Ciudadano, or Citizen's Digital Medical Record) during the period from February to July 2004. Total number of the same type of administrative visits recorded by the previous system (TASS) during the period from February to July 2003.


RESULTS
The mean number of administrative visits per month during the period from February to July 2003 was 160, compared to a mean number of 64 visits during the period from February to July 2004. The reduction in the number of visits for prescription renewal was 60%.


CONCLUSIONS
Introducing a system for computer-aided prescribing significantly reduced the number of administrative visits for prescription renewal for long-term treatment. This could help reduce the administrative burden considerably in primary care if the system were used in all centers.
Suárez-Varela Ubeda
J
J
Médico de familia, Centro de Salud de Torreblanca, Máster en Salud Pública y Gestión Sanitaria EASP, Granada, España. juanf.suarez.sspa@juntadeandalucia.es
Beltrán Calvo
C
C
Molina López
T
T
Navarro Marín
P
P
D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D011307:Drug Prescriptions; D006801:Humans; D013813:Therapy, Computer-Assisted