Digital Prescription- How Doctors can help Save millions of trees Worldwide
July 29, 2022When we visit a clinic, often it ends with a doctor’s prescription. Usually it’s a piece of paper with inscriptions for betterment of our health. For us, a paper prescription may be an insignificant rise in our carbon footprint. But a doctor who treats thousands of patients, 5 trees a year is what it takes to make his prescription pads.
25 Lakhs of trees are chopped down every year in the world for making prescription pads. The effects of which are piling up in the form of global warming and climate change. Now what if we say doctors too can contribute for a better future by shifting towards Digital Prescription. Well, let’s discuss.
The Ones Showing the Way
E-prescribing may be the latest tech in this part of the world, but in New Zealand, one of the greenest countries, it was introduced more than twenty years back. As a part of NZ Govt’s health program, digital prescription saw daylight in the nineties.
However, the earliest use of e-prescription was in the US when the US Institute of Medicine recommended it and several high-end hospitals adopted it in the 70s. A decade back, pharmacies were at the forefront of computerization in health care with automated billing systems. It eventually led to the development of the rudimentary e-prescribing software.
Government Initiatives Around the World
- Canada: In 2016, the Canadian Government allocated $40 million to Canada Health Infoway for developing a digital prescription system.
- Russia: Electronic prescription was a part of Project EMIAS endorsed by the Russian Government. Back in 2014, Moscow ordered a digital city program where digital prescriptions were introduced in the Russian public healthcare system.
- Bangladesh: In Bangladesh, the High Court issued an order stating doctors have to write prescriptions in a readable format. This ruling pushed a large part of doctors to make a move towards e-prescriptions.
- The UK: NHS England has set a target to go paperless in prescribing methods by the end of 2024. Although it’s an ambitious target, it shows the intent of the UK’s public health authorities to prioritize digital prescription adoption.
- India: The Government of West Bengal leads the way in e-prescription adoption in India. Back in 2014, GoWB mandated government-run hospitals to issue e-prescription.
How Indian Doctors Can Contribute to it
A group of doctors with conservative thoughts often ask how digital prescriptions and electronic health records play a part in treating patients. Let us say, it plays a big part in treating the health of our planet.
According to a research by Kaiser Permanente, a US-based healthcare giant, the benefit of e-prescription implementation in 36 hospitals and 454 clinics is equivalent to a reduction of 1.7 million tonne CO2 emission. Now imagine the environmental effect it can leave if lakhs of Indian doctors and clinics digitize their prescribing method.
Benefits of Going Digital
Keeping aside the environmental benefits, digital prescriptions offer next-level convenience to both doctors and patients. Following are a few key benefits of using e-prescription software.
- Safe cloud storage of prescriptions resulting to reduction in prescription losses
- Easy access of prescriptions from both patients and doctor’s end
- Prevents drug delivery errors by pharmacists due to handwriting issues
- Reconcile patient’s medication history quickly and conveniently
- Pharmacies spend less time in verifying orders
- Easily prescribe drugs that are covered by patient’s insurance
- Low-cost solution in comparison with custom printed paper prescriptions
- Instantly alerts clinics and hospitals with course of action for specific patients
SoftClinic GenX: The Economical Solution
After reading all this information, if you’re a doctor based in India and want to make alterations to your way of prescribing, SoftClinic GenX is your best bet. SoftClinic brings the most economical yet efficient digital prescribing solution in India.
With SoftClinic GenX, a prescription will only cost you ₹2. This costing is much lesser than both traditional paper-based prescription and computer printed prescriptions. SoftClinic GenX offers prescription emailing, sms alerts and automated WhatsApp messages for absolutely free of cost.
Wrapping Up!
E-prescribing is here to stay. Digital prescription not only saves us from pharmacist errors but also saves hectares of forest from being cut down and converted into papers. SoftClinic GenX is leading the digital prescription revolution in India.
In this war against climate change, we all have to play our part. Without which, our next generations may not have a planet to call home. For our saviors from healthcare sectors, digital prescriptions present a great opportunity to fight back against climate change. So if you’re a medical practitioner, embrace the change and contribute to a greener future.