When patients are given electronic prescriptions they are more likely to pick up and fill their dermatological prescriptions.

A UNC School of Medicine dermatologist recently conducted a study to determine if the way a prescription was written – either traditionally or electronically – played a role in whether a patient filled and picked up the medication.

In the study, published today in JAMA Dermatology, Adewole S. Adamson, MD, assistant professor of dermatology, found that the way a prescription was written could influence whether a patient filled the prescription.

Adamson used data from a dermatology clinic in a large urban county health system in Texas to measure primary nonadherence, which is defined as not filling up and picking up all prescriptions within one year of the prescription date. Medication nonadherence is associated with poorer clinical outcomes, yet there weren’t many studies prior to Adamson’s studies that looked at factors influencing nonadherence in dermatology, he said.

Adamson’s study found that there was a 16 percent reduction in primary nonadherence when the prescription was in electronic format compared with a traditional, paper prescription.

“Although it may seem intuitive that primary adherence would increase by removing the patient from the prescription-to-pharmacy routing process, few studies have compared primary nonadherence of patients given traditional prescriptions versus e-prescriptions,” Adamson said.

Read Full Article: Paper vs. electronic: How a dermatology prescription is written affects adherence — News Room – UNC Health Care

	Read Full Article: Paper vs. electronic: How a dermatology prescription is written affects adherence — News Room – UNC Health Care