title: E-prescription as a tool for improving services and the financial viability of healthcare systems: the case of the Greek national e-prescription system.
abstract: E-prescription systems can help improve patient service, safety and quality of care. They can also help achieve better compliance for the patients and better alignment with the guidelines for the practitioners. The recently implemented national e-prescription system in Greece already covers approximately 85% of all prescriptions prescribed in Greece today (approximately 5.5 million per month). The system has not only contributed already in significant changes towards improving services and better monitoring and planning of public health, but also substantially helped to contain unnecessary expenditure related to medication use and improve transparency and administrative control. Such issues have gained increasing importance not only for Greece but also for many other national healthcare systems that have to cope with the continuous rise of medication expenditure. Our implementation has, therefore, shown that besides their importance for improving services, national e-prescription systems can also provide a valuable tool for better utilisation of resources and for containing unnecessary healthcare costs, thus contributing to the improvement of the financial stability and viability of the overall healthcare system.
authors.affiliation: IDIKA S.A. and Aristotle University, 40 Lagoumitzi str., Athens 11745, Greece.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Pangalos
authors.affiliation: IDIKA S.A., 40 Lagoumitzi str., Athens 11745, Greece.
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Sfyroeras
authors.affiliation: Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki 54621, Greece.
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Pagkalos
mesh_terms: D003695:Delivery of Health Care / Q000191:economics / Q000458:organization & administration*; D055695:Electronic Prescribing; D006115:Greece; D006285:Health Planning; D006302:Health Services Research; D006801:Humans; D055118:Medication Adherence; D009313:National Health Programs / Q000191:economics / Q000458:organization & administration*; D061214:Patient Safety; D015397:Program Evaluation; D058996:Quality Improvement; D011787:Quality of Health Care
keywords: Greece; electronic healthcare; electronic prescriptions; e–health; e–prescriptions; financial viability; health informatics; healthcare services; patient safety; patient services; quality of care; resource utilisation; service improvement